


Teaching to See

by AdmiralTabby



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, One Piece - Freeform, Trafalgar Law - Freeform, heart pirate crew - Freeform, noble girl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 20:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10544110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdmiralTabby/pseuds/AdmiralTabby
Summary: She's a noble, and blind. Law is Law. Both of them have a lot to learn in the New World. For her, it's being a pirate and how to deal with new things. As for Law...his expression of emotion and feelings could always use work. And the rest of the crew is greatly amused by everything. Transplanted from FanFiction because I finally made an Ao3 account





	1. Chance Encounter

A small young woman slowly opened her eyes as early morning sunlight hit her face. A yawn escaped her before she crawled out of the massive bed. She headed towards an equally massive wardrobe and was just about to open it when,

"MISS RINA!" a voice said sharply. Rina sighed and stopped. The sound of middle aged woman walking in from around the corner greeted her ears.

"You can't just go walking around your room without assistance, you could harm yourself," the woman said, softer this time. Rina rolled her eyes, which were cloudy looking.

"Merin, I'm blind, not helpless. I told you that I can get by," she huffed.

"Nonsense. And besides, you can't just wear anything today."

"Oh don't remind me.." Rina sighed.

Lanulla Rina was a high-born noble from a country in the West Blue. Currently, she was on the Sabaody Archipelago. Her bloodline was noble enough to the point of her being able to marry into the high ranked Dragons. The marriage was arranged of course, to bring honor and prestige to her family. Rina was considered a lovely prize, a blind beauty. All things considered she wasn't surprised her father had been able to marry her off so well. She still hated it.

Being born blind, her other senses were naturally more sensitive than most humans. What was odd about Rina though, was how overly sensitive her other 4 senses were. She had struggled with it as a child, until an old medical officer from the country's military had recognized what afflicted her. The old medic had come to her parents with a bogus story of an imaginary illness, and they had bought it, allowing him to treat her. What the medic had really done was teach her to control her unique gift.

It turned out that on top of the heightened senses, Rina's blindness had also caused her to develop an extraordinary sense of observation haki. The medic had helped her gain control over it, and combined with her strong senses, the girl could practically see the world around her without actually being able to see. Of course, this had led to a young Rina hearing many conversations she wasn't meant to hear, and to be more aware of truths in the world than most nobles. In short, she despised the nobility, and the fact that she was trapped within it.

"We should head over to the Celestial Dragon's pavilion, the wedding is later this afternoon and we need to get you prepped!" urged Merin. Rina sighed again but wordlessly let the woman dress her.

0~0~0

It had only been about a week and a half since the Battle at Marineford, but Trafalgar Law was surprised at how quickly the Archipelago had gone back to normal. He wouldn't have come back here at all after getting the Sub repaired, but as it turned out, even submarines needed to get coated for the depths they were travel.

The surgeon was currently alone, having just shown the coating man to where the Sub was hidden, and was trekking his way back to where the rest of his crew was currently staying. It was early in the day, but Law still wore a hooded cloak to hide his identity. He was almost back to the groves set aside for lodging travelers when he saw them.

An armed escort was getting itself organized outside on of the nicer inns. Curious as to who was being escorted, the pirate captain quickly hid himself in an alleyway. A middle aged maid came out of the building first. Law couldn't hear what she was saying as he was to far away, but it looked like the woman was fussing at someone. That 'someone' finally emerged, and Law whistled lowly to himself. The girl was a tiny little thing, but she still held herself with noble grace. She was dressed in a similar manner to a Celestial Dragon, but there was differences in her attire as well. No air suit was under her dress, so the garment fit her naturally and no air globe sat over her head. Law thought she looked a little familiar, and then hit his fist on his palm as he remembered.

Shes that noble girl from somewhere out in the West Blue. I saw her in the paper the other day, I guess she's supposed to marry a Celestial Dragon? He shrugged his shoulders and was about to be on his way when her blank, clouded eyes seem to fixate on him. The surgeon froze, not sure what to make of it. The girl's brow wrinkled slightly at him. Law studied her as best as he could from this distance.

"She's blind," he noted out loud, remembering another tidbit from the article he had read. As he said this, the girl seemed to nod. Law paused again, and then took a few small steps out of the alley. Her head followed his movements. He stepped back into the alley, leaving just his head sticking out. Again, she followed him.

Fascinating, Law mused. He raised his voice just a tad and addressed her.

"Can you hear me?" he asked. She nodded softly. Still not quite believing it, he asked another question.

"What else can you hear?!" She quirked a brow, and waved her hand in front of her in a circular manner.

"Everything?" Law asked, not sure if he understood her right. She nodded. He continued. "Where are you headed?" She held up her hand and rubbed her ring finger.

"Oh, right, wedding..you don't look to enthused about it," he noted. The girl scowled slightly and shook her head. Law chuckled. For a noble, she was alright. And her senses were something else. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, the surgeon mentally debated with himself for a short moment.

"All, right, I've decided something. But the outcome of what I've decided depends on your answer. How does that sound?" he asked her. She looked confused by what he said, but nodded nonetheless.

"What do you desire most in the world?" His question hung in the air a moment, as her face grew serious. She tilted her head towards her maid, who was currently arguing with one of the guards. After she had determined it safe, she fixed her blind gaze in his direction again.

"I wish to be free," she mouthed silently. Law nodded solemnly.

"Alright then, I'll be off then. But I'll be in touch. See you soon." And with that, he rushed off. He had to admit, the decision had been a bit rash on his part, he didn't even know her name, but he had a gut feeling about her. And his gut feelings were usually spot-on.

0~0~0

Rina could hardly believed what had just happened. While Merin had been arguing with the guards over who-knows-what, the blind girl had spread out her haki out of pure boredom. She always managed to find someone doing something amusing. The young woman had been somewhat surprised to find an especially bright spark of life observing them, hidden out of sight and earshot of the others. Rina had focused in on the spark, curious. What she hadn't expected was for them to notice her, let alone strike up a conversation. And for some reason, the stranger's promise to see her again left her excited and hopeful.

What was with that question about what I desire most anyway? she wondered. Regardless, Rina was now keeping her haki on full alert. She could have branched it out further than she had, or simply tracked the man, but she didn't like to hear all of the extra noise from every other life from that great an area. But as soon as the man came within a 20 foot radius, she would know. She had no idea why she trusted him so much, but it seemed as if he had become her final hope.


	2. Wedding Crashers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I can't do italicized writing for some reason on this site all internal thoughts from characters will be surrounded by *

"Shachi," Law said.

"...Captain," the redhead responded, sweatdropping. He and Law held a staring contest for a few moments, much to the bewilderment of the crew.

"Do we REALLY need to coat the Sub? She surely must be made of stronger stuff than that.." the captain said. Shachi sighed.

"It's like we discussed earlier, Captain. Yes, we could possibly make it. But a coating would undoubtedly make it safer-"

"But it can be done," Law insisted. Shachi threw up his hands.

"I mean, I guess!" he hollered. The captain grinned.

"Well then. It's decided. Everyone!" he called out, bringing the crew's full attention to himself. "Gather as many provisions and supplies as you can and take them back to the Sub. We'll be heading out at some point later today," he instructed them.

"What do you have up your sleeve, Captain?" inquired Jean-Bart. Law smirked in his usual fashion.

"I found someone to join our crew, but when I pick them up, we're going to have to raise a little hell to get out of here," he explained, enjoying the looks of apprehension the crew showed. "I want Penguin, Bepo, and Jean-Bart to come with me. Shachi, you're in charge while we're out," Law told them. Everyone nodded and Law's selected party split off with him.

"So who's the new guy then? Why are we gonna have to book it out of here?" Penguin asked. The others nodded, also curious as to who their captain wanted to recruit. Law's eyes were hidden under his hat as he grinned.

"Oh, you'll see."

0~0~0

"Ow!" Rina squawked.

"Then hold still dear," Merin said, twisting her hair into what Rina could only assume was a complicated updo. They had arrived in the special pavilion where the wedding was to be held and were now preparing Rina for the ceremony. The fabric she was now draped in was some of the softest she had ever felt. She had also been scrubbed clean and rubbed down with fragrant oils that threatened to overpower her already strong sense of smell. And now Merin was plucking at her face, smoothing away any blemishes with makeup. Rina wrinkled her nose when she accidentally tasted the stuff that was put on her lips.

Once she had been properly beautified, the waiting began. It was always a huge event when a Celestial Dragon got married, and Rina could sense the droves of people flocking to the pavilion. She started to feel the beginnings of doubt and worry about the mysterious stranger, as well about the whole situation in general. She had no reason to believe that this man, whoever he was, was really coming back. And if he did, what then? What did he even want? He might have never meant to take her anywhere, he had only said that she would meet him again.

"Don't wring your hands, child, you'll ruin your nails," chided Merin. The blind girl had to sit on her hands to stop her nervous fidgeting. Her mind continued to overthink.

Considering the man DID come for her, and DID take her with him, what would she do then? Did he expect her to stay with him, or would he just drop her off somewhere? And how would he get her away from the Celestial Dragons? Did he want to become a criminal? Not to mention that she would have to leave all of her belongings behind. She would only have the clothes on her back.

"Oh, it's time!" Merin chirped. Rina gulped. She allowed Merin to lead her towards the door. Taking a breath in an attempt to calm herself, Rina squared her shoulders and stepped out.

0~0~0

It only took Law a few minutes to find out where the wedding was being held by simply asking someone. The wedding was a large event after all and open to the upper class to attend.

"Wait, we're crashing a wedding?!" Penguin asked.

"That is the idea, yes," Law confirmed.

"Will they even let a bear in?" Bepo asked.

"Doesn't really matter, we're not invited either way," Law retorted. Jean-Bart chuckled. The group was very near the pavilion now, and traveling around was starting to get difficult. Guards were everywhere. Law had them stop a ways away so they could figure out their strategy.

"Okay, so we're going to essentially be taking someone attending the wedding, so our best bet is to come in hard and fast, grab our friend, and then try to get out as fast as we can and to then just RUN. Only fight to get people out of your way, speed is of the essence here," the captain told him. The others nodded.

"I'll grab the new member, since they already know me. Now, let's head out." The group stood and split up, all heading for different corners of the pavilion.

0~0~0

The first thing Rina could come up with to think about the wedding was how boring it was. Unlike normal weddings, this one started with long winded speeches and introductions of her fiancé's family. After what seemed like ages, music finally started and she was cued to start slowly down the aisle while she was introduced. As she took her first steps, she let her haki sweep out to include the entire pavilion. It wasn't until she was halfway down the aisle that she felt it. The stranger was here. And close.

She had no idea how he had gotten in, but he was obviously hiding. She faltered in her step a little, overjoyed. Merin hissed at her, and yanked on her arm to keep her pace up. Rina was happy, but then started to panic. She had no idea what the plan was.

0~0~0

Law smirked. The girl could obviously sense him. He moved his hand, signaling to Bepo, Penguin, and Jean-Bart to be ready. He was making his move. He dashed forward, rapidly closing the gap between him and the center of the pavilion. Shouts of protest and outrage erupted all around him. He simply grinned and focused on the maid next the girl.

"Room," he uttered, causing the familiar blue bubble to appear all around them. The maid tried to pull the girl away into the crowd.

"Shambles," he finished. And then, he was standing right next to her, having swapped places with the maid. The girl's face was beaming.

"You came.." she whispered, sounding nervous, excited, and a little shocked.

"Hey Girly. I'm a pirate, by the way, want to join my crew? It's really the only way out of this," he said in greeting. She blinked.

"I don't think there's any turning back now..." she mumbled. Law grinned. She was right about that.

"We'll talk more in depth later," he told her, wrapping his arm around her middle. The other three were at his side in an instant.

"THE BRIDE? REALLY?" came Penguin's voice. Law simply nodded.

"Time to go, guys," he announced, picking up the girl completely. And with that, they started running.

0~0~0

Rina had never heard so much confusion in her life. She didn't even need her haki to tell her that everywhere they went, there was screeching, yelling, fighting, and overall panic. The pirate captain had moved her so he could carry her piggy back. Instinctively she had wrapped her small limbs around him so she wouldn't fall. There were 3 other auras running with the captain, and she could only assume that they were part of his crew since they weren't attacking. The other thing she had noticed was a strange energy that came from the captain. He would also keep muttering "room" and "shambles." It was unlike anything Rina had ever sensed before.

*Just how strong of people have I gotten myself with?* she wondered. The captain was having no trouble fending off the many guards she sensed swarming them. He had to be fighting with some type of sword, from the way she could feel him swinging his arm. The other 3 with them were doing fine as well. Rina could sense their energies flare up as they fought their attackers with mixed forms of martial arts. Despite herself, Rina felt a shiver of excitement tingle it's way down her spine.

"SHACHI, OPEN UP AND PREPARE TO DIVE!" she heard, and felt, the captain yell. The scent of the ocean and sound of the waves confirmed that they were near the shore. But something the captain had said left Rina puzzled.

*Dive? I thought pirates sailed on ships upon the sea?*

"BEPO, TAKE GIRLY-YA," ordered the captain. Rina felt him reach around to move her again. "My names not girly-" she started to say, but was cut off by the captain literally tossing her. She was stunned into silence as she felt herself sail through the air towards one of the people that had accompanied the captain. Rina turned herself as best as she could midair to face this new person so they might be able to catch her better. This Bepo person, as the captain had called them, caught her with ease. They dashed forward with inhuman speed, and Rina heard their feet hit what sounded like metal plating.

*Aren't ships supposed to be made of wood?!* This pirate crew just kept getting more strange. Two more thuds sounded next to Bepo, the two others had jumped on deck. Her haki confirmed that the captain was still on shore, and surrounded by others.

"Room," she heard him mutter. That strange aura she had felt from him earlier appeared again, stronger this time. Rina scrunched her blind eyes closed as she concentrated all of her haki on the captain, trying to figure out what he was doing. There was his strange power radiating all around him in a huge bubble. There was a distinct *shick* as he unsheathed his sword, and the unmistakable sound of a blade slashing through the air.

"Shambles," he said. Rina flared her haki out, confused by what she felt. The group surrounding the captain..they were still alive, but now they were in several pieces each. The power faded from around the captain and he too jumped onto the vessel.

"Okay guys, below deck. I want us underwater yesterday," he barked. Bepo carried her a little farther until the sounds of outside became muted, signaling that they were within the ship. He put her down just as the captain himself ran inside.

"CLOSE THE HATCH! GO GO GO!" There was a flurry of activity and Rina felt the captain grab her hand as he walked by and dragged her away. She allowed herself to actually act blind for once and let him drag her down into what smelled like a kitchen.

"Until you're more familiar with how the Sub runs just stay in here whenever it gets hectic. You'll be out of the way in the galley," he instructed. She nodded as he directed her to a chair. He dashed off to rejoin the rest of the crew. Rina sat and simply listened. Apparently, they were on a submarine. Rina had only ever heard about them. It was strange to her. The whole thing was obviously made of metal, and she could hear every little creak and moan the thing made. It was very noisy to her. 

"Ya might want to hold onto the table there, love," came a female voice. Rina turned towards it, feeling for a table as she do.

"Who's there?" she asked. The other woman chuckled softly.

"Name's Anyu, ship's cook. You must be the one Captain ran off to get," she told Rina. Rina nodded.

"My name is Rina. Pleasure to meet you."

"You're quite the looker. Ya sure you ain't here for the Captain's...needs?" Anyu asked. From the tone in the other woman's voice Rina could tell she joking, but it did raise some worry in Rina's mind. "I certainly hope not.." she muttered.

"Ah, you're fine. Captain's not the sort to bring his whores along, if ya know what I mean," Anyu laughed. Rina felt her face grow warm. Suddenly, the Sub tilted forward violently. Rina almost fell, but Anyu grabbed her arm before she did. The sound of engines grew loud and Rina could feel the vessel accelerate.

"Is it always like this?" she asked. Anyu shifted.

"Not aaaaall the time. Usually only when we're fighting or running," the other woman said. 

"Which is quite often," Rina guessed.

"Ya got me there," the other woman admitted. The Sub continued to dive, groaning and creaking all the while. After what seemed like ages, Rina felt the Sub level out its angle. After a few moments, crew members started to emerge from all over the Sub. She could hear them whispering to each other. They seemed more curious than anything about her. The captain chose that moment to enter the galley. Rina turned her blind eyes towards him.

"Ok, now that we've taken care of that," he said, moving to sit somewhere near her right, "I believe introductions are in order." Rina wished she had the ability to see at that moment, for she was sure it was an interesting sight to behold. She was still in her wedding dress, after all.

"My name is Lunulla Rina, and up until about an hour ago, I was a noble," she started, feeling them all focus on her. "I was in the process of marrying one of those horrid Celestial Dragons when you snatched me away. I ran into the captain earlier when he decided to recruit me?" she inquired, moving her head towards him.

"Your talents are unlike anything I've ever seen and you didn't look very enthused about your situation," he said with a chuckle.

"Talents?" asked someone. Rina recognized his voice as one of the men who had accompanied the captain.

"I was born blind," she said bluntly, "and my other senses are very strong because of it. I even developed observation haki," she added.

"Haki?" the captain asked. He sounded interested. Rina nodded.

"It's actually how I noticed you in the first place. Your aura is very noticeable," she told him. "That's pretty cool," said a new voice. She could tell it came from a crew member to her left, but she didn't recognize the voice.

"Now may I please know all of your names?" she asked.

0~0~0

Law grinned.

"My name is Trafalgar Law, Captain off the Heart Pirates. Welcome aboard," he said, formally introducing himself. Her eyebrows raised a little.

"Trafalgar Law?" she asked, sounding surprised. "One of the supernovas rescued me?" Law grinned again.

"Oh, so you've heard of me, huh?"

"Of course, who hasn't after the events before and during the Battle of Marineford. I might have been a noble, Captain, but I made sure to have my maid read me the paper and keep me informed on events in the world," she huffed. Law chuckled.

"And yet it doesn't phase you that a man with a bounty as high as mine whisked you away," he asked. She simply shook her head.

"I think I'm more lucky than anything. If some rookie pirate had tried to do what you did I would be a married woman by now." The rest of the crew choked back laughter at her retort, with even Law cracking a smile.

"And I believe you briefly met Bepo, my first mate," he added. She moved her head towards the polar bear

"Since you're new, you have to listen to me," Bepo declared. The blind girl gave a small smile. "I'm Penguin! I came with them to grab you from the wedding!"

"And I'm Jean-Bart," the giant man greeted. Law's crew introduced themselves one by one. There was Shachi of course, and it seemed she was already acquainted with Anyu. Once she had learned everyone's names she seemed to visibly relax. If Law had to guess, it was because she could now put names to all the voices around her. Anyu offered to show her around the Sub, and to get her settled in her room. The two women would be sharing the room that previously had only housed Anyu. Say what you would about Law, but he was at least enough of a gentleman to give a woman her own quarters.

As they went off to explore the Sub, Law shooed the rest of his crew to go back to their various duties. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo stayed in the galley with him. The three of them were his head officers in a way, since they had been with him the longest. Jean-Bart had also stayed, as he had become their secondary navigator. Law also valued his opinions of things as the man had been a respected captain at one time.

"I want us to change our heading," the surgeon said, looking towards Bepo.

"We aren't going to Fishman Island then?" the polar bear asked. Law shook his head.

"No, I want to stay in the first half of the Grand Line a little longer like I originally planned. I want the other crews who already rushed in to wear themselves out for a bit, and then we'll make our move."

"You want to study her a bit," Jean-Bart stated. The captain shrugged, not denying the statement.

"I do want to test her abilities and see what else she is capable of, yes, but it's besides the point," he said, standing up. "Now I have some work to do in my quarters." He left them, trusting Bepo and Jean-Bart's navigational skills enough to get them somewhere relatively safe and marine free. From the galley he walked through two different hallways and past the main sleeping quarters for the crew. Next the the sleeping quarters was the main bathroom, which was were the showers and bath were located. The bath room was connected to the men's sleeping quarters and to the women's, which was next in he hallway.

The Sub had initially been designed with two bunk rooms for crew members and small private quarters for himself. When Anyu had joined the crew though, it just hadn't felt right to make her sleep with all of the men. So Anyu had been allowed to have the second bunk room to herself, and now Rina would be joining her. At the dead end of the hall was the door to Law's room. He opened it and slipped inside. The room was sparsely decorated, not that there was much room for decoration. There was his bed shoved against the wall, with a porthole right above it, offering a view of the sea outside. At the foot of the bed was a chest to hold his personal belongings, and squeezed next to the head of the bed was a writing desk and coat rack. He also had a bookcase on the wall opposite his bed. It didn't leave much floor space after that, and was much smaller than the main sleeping quarters, but Law didn't mind. It worked for him and he didn't need a whole lot of space anyway. A small door was next to the bookcase, which led to his small private bathroom.

The surgeon went over to his books and scanned the titles. Finding the one he wanted, he slipped his shoes off and went to sit on his bed, propping up a pillow so he could lean against the wall. He switched on a lamp that was sitting on the desk and flipped through the books pages. After a moment, he stopped, the section he had found titled 'Blindness." He made himself comfortable and then began to read.

0~0~0


	3. Perceptions

"How about we get you out of that dress now?" Anyu said. Rina smoothed her hands over the soft fabric.

"It's...ah, literally all I own now," she said lamely. Anyu laughed.

"I realized this when Captain Law abducted ya from a wedding. Don't worry, ya can borrow clothes from me until we find somewhere to buy ya some new ones." Rina nodded, and then followed the older woman towards the women's quarter. They had already finished exploring the Sub, and now Rina had a rough idea of its layout.

There was an outer deck, obviously. She had landed on it with Bepo. She had also figured out that the deck was connected to the top level of the vessel. The yellow submarine had three interior decks. The smaller top deck was labeled the control room, as it held all of the steering equipment and navigation charts, and connected to the outside deck as well. The middle deck was larger and where the galley and sleeping quarters were located. A small recreational room was also squeezed onto this deck. As for the third deck, the bowels of the Sub, that was was where the engine room, the brig, and Law's extensive medical bay where located. Now they were back in the women's quarters and Anyu was helping Rina out of the wedding dress.

"We should save this, it's to beautiful to throw away," Anyu murmured.

"It does feel nice," Rina agreed. As Anyu helped her into some normal clothes, Rina reflected on everything that had happened. Not only had she trusted a random stranger, but she had trusted one from the Worst Generation. The Captain of the Heart Pirates, Trafalgar Law. Rina had heard things about him, about how he was a sadistic mad scientist of a doctor, earning himself the nickname 'Surgeon of Death.' So far though, he didn't seem particularly cruel or unusual. He just seemed like, well, someone who did what they wanted, government be damned.

"Well it's a start, but yer starting to look the part!" Anyu said. Rina stopped her inner musings to feel the clothes she was now wearing. It felt like a simple shirt, and some rather baggy pants. What confused the blind girl was the knot of fabric around her middle.

"What's this?" she asked.

"An extra jumpsuit of mine. It's a bit big on you though, so I left the top of it off and tied it's sleeves around your waist," the older woman explained. "Now come with me, it's about time I started on dinner."

0~0~0

Law sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on. The world seemed so advanced some days, with laser-spitting robots and trains that ran over the sea, to downright prehistoric some days, with Stone Age medical practices and old fashioned sailing ships still the norm. All of his medical books were repeating themselves and telling him what he already knew.

Blindness was either developed later in life due to age or injury, or you were born with it. It had been discovered that the main source of blindness was cataracts, which were the lenses of the eyes being clouded instead of clear. But Law of course already knew this.

It was also a well known fact that blind people often had one of their other senses grow even stronger to make up for a lack of sight. It seemed it was more rare for all of the senses to be enhanced, and the books had nothing about haki abilities. Law collected the handful of books he had gone through and took them back to his shelf. His eyes fell in a thinner book that was unmarked. Grabbing it after a moment of thought, the pirate doctor took it back to his reading spot.

It was one of Doctor Hogback's personal medical journals. Law had found it for sale in a shady little junk shop a few islands back. The famous doctor had been somewhat radical with his ideas, but as Law saw it, sometimes radical was needed. He had only leafed through the journal once or twice before, but he remembered blindness being mentioned somewhere. About halfway through, he found it. Hogback had been performing autopsies on various cadavers for research.

-Today's specimen had cataract blindness, so I decided to focus on studying the eyes. As previously known, the cause of the specimen's blindness was caused by clouded lenses. I removed the clouded lenses easily enough, and I took clear, healthy lenses from a specimen I had operated on the previous day. Much as I suspected, the clear lenses were able to go into the new eye. Let it be noted that before removing the cataracts, the the pupils and irises were a cloudy uniform color. After replacing the lenses, the eye's natural brown color became apparent and clear. Therefore, I hypothesize that cataract blindness is curable by surgery via lens transplant, but how to apply this to a living patient is still unknown at this time.-

Law closed the journal. With his Ope-Ope Fruit powers, the surgery would be possible. Of course, he didn't even know if the girl wanted to see. And he didn't want to damage her eyes further with a mistake. The surgeon put the journal back on his book shelf, and then put his shoes back on, thinking. He was planning on setting up a base on an island for a least a few months, and now he was considering doing some experiments while there. He also wanted to test out Rina's abilities and do some much needed alterations to the Sub. He stood up, his shoes fully on, and he quietly left his quarters.

0~0~0

"Where are we headed anyway, Bepo?" Law asked the polar bear as they ate. Bepo swallowed his food before answering.

"I managed to get a couple of eternal poses while we were on Sabaody. I've compared the names on the poses to some of my charts and picked the most remote one," his first mate answered. Law nodded.

"When should we be arriving?"

"About 6 more days or so, but there's another island that we will pass on the way."

"We'll restock there, then," Law decided. Over dinner, he had explained his plans to the rest of the crew. They seemed to enjoy the idea of setting up a temporary base.

"If we're updating the Sub Shachi and I might have to go around to other islands for supplies," Penguin said through a mouthful of food.

"That's fine. All of us will probably have to island hop a bit for things," the doctor said, thinking of his own more private medical plans. Dinner went on without event, and slowly the crew members disappeared to bed. Law found himself alone with Rina in the galley. She was seated a few seats down and across from him.

"So, how are you doing?" he asked, gulping at the mug of tea he was nursing.

"Everything is so lively," she stated. Law snorted in amusement.

"Well that's one way of putting it.." he agreed. The two of them shared comfortable silence for a while longer.

"What exactly do you have planned for me?" she suddenly asked. The Heart captain quirked a brow, setting down his mug.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure yet. I'm curious to see if you can learn other forms of haki. Before I knew you could use it at all I was thinking you could help us detect enemies while we were above water," he told her honestly.

"And if I can't use other forms of haki?" she asked. Law had to give the girl credit for being perceptive.

"I'm curious to see if we can train you to fight. Blind or not, your senses could make you quite formidable," he admitted. Rina blinked her clouded eyes in confusion.

"Me? Fight?"

"Don't underestimate yourself. If your senses are as sharp as you say, you wouldn't even need to see," he said, leaning forward on the table to rest his head in his hand.

"What is your strange power? I could feel you use it and I don't know what is was,"

"Hm?" he quirked a brow.

"When you fight. This strange energy come from you and surrounds the nearby area. What is it?" she asked again.

"Oh that. I'm a Devil Fruit user. Have you never met one before?"

"No. There wasn't any in my city growing up. You're the first I've met," Rina said. Law smirked to himself. They sat like that for awhile longer, until Law decided to ask what he had initially wanted to ask her.

"Tell me, if it were possible, would you want to be able to see?" he inquired. Rina didn't answer right away. She sat and ran her hand over the table, feeling the grain of the wood. Law gulped his tea again as he awaited her reply.

"While I am content with how I am able to 'see' the world in my own way, I would be lying if I said I never wished to know what colors look like, or to see the sky for myself. So I believe I would take the chance if it were possible, yes, I would take the opportunity," she finally answered. "Why?" 

"Oh, medical curiosity. Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight Rina."

0~0~0

The next few days were busy ones. They had stopped on the island that was in the middle of their course, a port city that welcomed anyone as long as they paid. Anyu had tasked herself with getting Rina some clothes as well as more food for the crew. Law accompanied Shachi and Penguin to buy supplies for the Sub. The Heart captain also made a trip with Kirkby, the youngest crew member. The boy was about 14, with messy sand colored hair and a splash of freckles. A blue beanie sat on his head. Kirkby was the unofficial cabin boy, and self-appointed apprentice to Law. 

"Captain!" Kirkby called out, waving his arm. He had found a medicinal shop. Law followed the boy inside. They stocked up on basic drugs, and were lucky enough to find some more exotic medicinal plants and ingredients. Law and Kirkby both looked over the medical books the shopkeep had available. Kirkby continued to look as Law left the bookcase and approached the owner.

"Do you know where I can find medical specimens? They don't need to be human," he inquired, keeping his voice low. The shopkeep regarded him with a critical eye.

"You looking for cadavers?" he asked. Law nodded. "There's a hospital and a cemetery, and they've always got bodies, if that's what your looking for. What are you researching, if I may ask?"

"I'm really only looking for the heads. I'm looking into removing cataracts from blind people and transplanting new lenses into the eye," the surgeon replied, seeing no harm in telling the man.

"Looking to cure blindness, eh?" the owner asked, curious. Law nodded again. "Well best of luck, my boy," the owner said, ringing up their items. Law and Kirkby returned to the Sub, and Law headed out again to look for the hospital.

0~0~0

The rest of the voyage towards the island they were actually headed to were busy as well. Besides organizing all of the supplies that had been purchased on the last island, Law had started to test Rina's abilities. Using baby transponder snails, he would send the crew to hide around the Sub. He would then ask Rina to tell him where everyone was. She would tell him where about she could sense their presence, and then they would call up the crew on the tiny snails to confirm their location on the Sub.

Rina was extremely accurate, and at any given point could tell you where somebody was. This led to Law using her to find crew members who would often hide to get out of doing chores. She readily agreed, finding it amusing when she led the pirate doctor to what they thought was a clever hiding spot. The result was a Sub that had never been more clean or run smoother.

Once they reached the island, it took them about a day to scout the whole thing out. It had residents, most of whom resided in a small town near a natural harbor. Like the previous island, they seemed to care little that they were pirates. Law was actually glad that there was civilization on the island, as it meant they wouldn't have to travel as far for more basic supplies. On the opposite side of the island there was a forest. It was here that Law declared they would set up their base.

0~0~0

"Stop moving so FAST!" Rina growled, spinning to her left and brandishing a stick. Law had set up a training field for everyone to use at their base. He made sure to try and train Rina once a week at minimum. The rules for now were simple, she had to get his hat. The captain started out with equally simple movements, from walking just out of her reach, or just behind her. The girl was a fast learner though, and he had been forced to get more creative in evading her. Especially when she had decided to try and whack him with a stick.

"Well, a weapon is an interesting choice," he noted with a grin. Her head snapped in the direction of his voice and her feet were already carrying her towards him. Scratch that, she was going slightly ahead, in the direction he had been headed towards and forcing him to duck and change course once again.

"You said you wanted me to learn how to fight, and to that we would start with me taking your hat. You didn't say I couldn't knock you out to get your hat," she growled. Law bit back a smile. The past weeks had started a slow change in the ex-noble. Where she had once been shy and proper, her true spunky nature was now starting to come out. The amount of pure sass she could dish out left the entire pirate crew smirking. Law swooped down and grabbed a stick of his own.

"Your form is all wrong, Rina-ya," he chided.

"To bad you can't SHOW me the correct way now," she spat playfully, stepping in a complicated fashion to swing her crude weapon at him again. He sidestepped it easily, but was nearly knocked in the ribs when she whirled with incredible speed to compensate with where she knew he would dodge to. A satisfying *clack* sounded as their sticks crashed into each other.

"Good," Law praised. Rina chuckled as she moved to already make her next attack.

0~0~0

There were several things Rina had noticed about the Heart Pirates and their captain from her short time with them. The crew was extremely loyal. She wasn't sure what they had gone through in the past, but they never questioned anything Law did. And Law did weird things sometimes. She had also come to realize that the captain was very distant. Even though the crew adored him, he wasn't really close to any of them, except for maybe Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi. Law would often excuse himself to his medical wing or his quarters for hours at a time. When she inquired about it, the crew just shrugged it off.

"Captain's just a quiet guy, ya know? And he's always studying something so we just let him be. He's always around when he needs to be and treats us all fairly," said Comer, one of the crew members who manned the Sub's instruments when submerged. He sounded young, but deceptively so. Rina had a feeling of she were to feel his face, it would be slightly chubby and smooth.

"And his judgment is the best I've ever seen," added Eider. His voice always sounded slightly muffled, as he wore a mask. Rina nodded, deep in thought. Her crew members bid her farewell as she wandered away. They had built a temporary barrack-like structure for most of the crew to sleep in for the base. On either side of the crews' sleeping quarters were two other small structures, with a small square of ground between them all. The first structure on the left was Law's private quarters and lab, and the slightly larger on the right was the kitchen and women's room. The square of ground in the center held a fire pit and tables, while behind the barracks was where the training field had been set up. The Sub had practically been emptied out, and throughout the day Rina could hear other crew members working on it. The sounds of steel being cut and welded were a constant she had gotten used to after about a week.

"Rina!" called Anyu. Her voice was coming from the direction of their room, so Rina headed that way. "I need yer unique help again," Anyu said, a smile in her voice.

"No problem," Rina offered, allowing Anyu to lead her into the kitchen part of the building. "What needs to be changed?" Anyu asked expectantly. Rina sniffed the air.

"Oh, whatever this is, it's slight, but you put to much pepper. And this," Rina started to walk to various things Anyu had cooking, "this needs more spices all together." Anyu began to run around with various seasonings and ingredients. They had discovered that Rina's sensitive nose greatly helped Anyu in the kitchen. Rina sat down in an available chair and listened to Anyu scurry around the kitchen.

"No one questioned me joining," Rina said suddenly. Anyu chopped something, potatoes from the smell, before answering.

"What was there to question? When Captain decides something, it's decided," she stated simply. "It's so amazing.." Rina mused aloud.

"What's amazing?" a new voice asked. Rina recognized it as Kirkby, the youngest member.

"Oh she's wondering about why no one's questioning why she's here and how Captain works and all of that," Anyu said, her tone playful.

"Oh? Why would we question her being on the crew? She joined willingly right?" Kirkby said, taking a seat near Rina.

"Boy, why ya in my kitchen anyway?" Anyu asked, the conversation momentarily forgotten. "Relax, Anyu, everyone just wants an ETA on the food. And we're allowed on the kitchen side, just not the sleeping side," Kirkby defended himself. Anyu sighed but Rina heard a light smack sound. The cook had hit Kirkby with a spoon.

"Now what where ya saying about something being amazing?" Anyu asked. Rina smiled.

"Oh, I meant the loyalty you all have for him. It's stronger than anything I've ever seen."

"We've all got our reasons," Anyu said, stirring some of the stew. "We all owe him our lives a hundred times over."

"But the first time he saves you is the one stays with you," Kirkby said softly. Rina nodded slightly at this. The feeling she had felt when Law had crashed into the wedding was one she was never going to forget.

"What was yours then, Kirkby, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked politely.

"Come to think of it, I don't know yers either, I joined after ya," Anyu said, coming towards them.

"Oh..ah, were do I start.." Kirkby shifted in his chair before continuing. "I was born and raised on a remote island in the North Blue, and Captain and the crew happened to stop there before heading for the Grand Line. They found me in the woods far outside town. I had apparently crawled to the spot where they found me.." he paused, his voice had become pained. "You see, the island where I was born isn't very advanced. It was a very religious and superstitious place..."

"Kirkby what happened," Anyu asked firmly, yet gently. Kirkby took a breath to settle himself. "Sorry, it's just hard to remember sometimes. Long story short I got sick. When it became apparent that the doctors we did have couldn't cure me, they took me outside town where no one traveled and stoned me," he told them. Rina's hand flew to her lips as she gasped. She had witnessed terrible things among the nobility, but nothing so old fashioned and brutal as stoning someone.

"It was terrible, everyone I knew growing up, my friends..my parents," he hitched his breath, "all of them. Throwing stones. They left when they thought I was dead. I must have blacked out, because the next thing I remember was Captain and Penguin finding me farther in the woods where I must have dragged myself. After that, they took me back to the Sub and fixed me up. Turns out the disease I had was something called Small Pox, which they have a cure for out here."

"Did yer go back to the village after that?" asked Anyu. Kirkby nodded.

"Captain took me back himself. They thought I was a devil or something, or that I had at least made a deal with the Devil himself. To put it simply, they ran us out of town. I didn't exactly have anywhere else to go so I went with Captain," he explained, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Anyu and Rina sat there silently, thinking. Kirkby sighed.

"Oh come on, don't act so glum about it. Anyu, tell her your story of how you joined!"

"Oh fine!" the cook snapped. Rina chuckled at their display. "I'm from a Fall island towards the beginning of the Grand Line," she started. "The island is fairly big, it's its own nation after all. I owned a restaurant near the sea. And of course, my restaurant was the one Captain and everyone decided to eat in." Anyu paused to tend to the stew. "While they were all eating there, this big fella, named Rynter, from the town came in. He was some noble bastard's eldest son or something, no offense Miss Rina," Anyu paused again, direction her voice towards the blind girl.

"None taken. I know better than most that nobles are bastards," Rina said flatly. Anyu snorted. "Ha, point taken. Anywho, Rynter had it in his big head that he was gonna have me as his wife. I told him no thank you. He gets all close and personal and grabbed at me and told me too bad. So I roundhouse kicked him in the face," Anyu stated. Kirkby laughed.

"Oh you should have seen it! We were just eating our food and suddenly we see this tiny little waitress send this dude FLYING-"

"I did not send nobody flying, Kirkby," Anyu sniffed.

"Oh you did and you know it. It that weird martial art you know," the teenager insisted. "ANYWAY," Anyu continued, "I had him really pissed off then. He left, and I didn't think much of it. I had been shooing this idiot away with slaps and such for years. Well then I was rather rudely awakened that night," Anyu said, her tone growing dark. She tended to her dishes before joining them again. "And by rudely, I mean with the big oaf on top of me in my bed. So I did what any normal girl would do. I fought him like hell and yelled just as loud," she told them. Rina had to admire Anyu. "What happened after that?" Rina asked, wondering how Law and the rest of the crew fit into this.

"Oh, apparently Penguin had overheard Rynter say he was going to sneak back into my room and 'teach me a lesson.' So within a few minuets Captain came in with Penguin. I swear, it was the most pathetic fight I've ever seen. Captain barely had to do anything, Penguin did most of it. Though Captain did rearrange his limbs a little bit," Anyu recalled with a chuckle. "They took me out of the house after that. I wanted to get some fresh air after the whole thing, and get a little payback. So I slipped away from them and snuck over to the nobility's part of town. I was plannin' on trashing Rynter's house and making the bastard sorry he had ever touched me. Well, long story shorter, things didn't go according to my plan-"

"I'LL say," Kirkby drawled sarcastically, cutting her off.

"-and a fire may or may not have been started, ON ACCIDENT, in the nobility quarter," Anyu finished. Rina bit her lip to hold back a laugh.

"What on Earth?" she giggled. 

"So I'm running around tryin' to get away from guards, when I see that MY HOUSE is also on fire, courtesy one pissy Rynter. So I'm about completely done with everything at this point and just start kicking everyone's arses when Captain just sort of comes up, outta nowhere mind you, and just calmly grabs me around the middle and says, 'It's time to go now, Cook-ya,' and then just carried me away," Anyu said.

"Really?" Rina asked. "You didn't put up a fuss?"

"Nah. My house was gone, the restaurant with it, so I had nothing left. And the guy had helped me earlier and seemed decent enough, so I figured why not? Something about Captain just makes ya want to follow the man," Anyu said with a shrug.

"Now both ya, out! Go tell everyone food's about done!"

0~0~0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup nerds. If you aren't up to date in One Piee don't read this note.  
>  I am planning on covering events in Punk Hazard and Dressarosa, ALTHOUGH it will probably just be from Law's POV since the other Heart Pirates aren't present. And while Law runs around with the Straw Hats I'll probably have a few chapters exploring what the crew does on Zou with Rina in their ranks.   
> I made Law pretty chill in this. My reasoning behind this is...well Law never really seemed like the psychotic slicer of a doctor other fics write him up to be *shrugs* from what I've read and seen of our favorite non-straw hat pirate doctor, he seems more like he just doesn't give a single fuck about anything. Yeah, he's distant, but we now know that is because of Doflamingo stuff in his past and because of Law's agenda that he had. So as the fic gets farther along and closer to Punk Hazard, expect to see Law grow more distant from his crew as he starts stressing about his warlord plan to take down Joker


	4. Green Eyes

"Fascinating," Law murmured, looking at the object in his hand. Kirkby gulped, also staring at it, as it happened to be his heart.

"Could I possibly have that back now?" the teen gulped. Law chuckled at his discomfort but still put the organ back in the boy's chest. Kirkby ran his hands over the spot where Law had replaced it, looking visibly relieved.

"You know I'm always willing to let you experiment on me, Captain, but with all due respect, NEVER do that again please," Kirkby said shakily. The surgeon hid an amused smile behind a clipboard.

"Don't worry, Kirkby, I don't plan to. Penguin and Shachi, however...go ahead and bring them in. And don't worry, I am 100% certain that this next experiment won't kill them," he said, watching as the teen nodded and quietly slipped out of the temporary lab. Law finished jotting down a few notes on his clipboard before setting it down. He was flexing his Ope Ope powers, testing to see what else he could do with them. He had formed an idea about how to use this new heart snatching technique, but he still needed to run a few more human tests. Law glanced at one of the body lockers he kept in here, temporarily allowing himself to forget about the hearts. He stood and went to it, opening the locker to roll out and reveal the female cadaver that was inside.

He had gotten her body on that last island, from the hospital. She had apparently been a prostitute, and had died due to a complication in childbirth. Law had opted to take the whole body instead of just the head, as a few more research opportunities had sprung into his mind. He had experimented removing hearts on her first, after he had inspected her eyes. She was about the same age as Rina so he planned on using her lenses if Rina agreed to the operation. Law was interrupted from his thoughts by Kirkby returning with his two head engineers in tow.

"You wanted to see us, Captain?" Shachi asked, sounding uncertain.

"Yes, stand over there, both of you," Law instructed. He glanced over at Kirkby. "Stand back," he told him.

"Why does Kirkby need to stand ba-" Penguin started to ask, but was cut off by Law suddenly activating his ability and swiftly slicing into both of their chests, and promptly sliding something back into their chests.

"Oof," grunted Penguin. "At least give us a little warning...wait a minute..." Penguin looked over at Shachi. "How am I looking at myself..?"

"I was about to ask the same thing.." Shachi said. "God how do you see wearing sunglasses all the time?" he added, removing the shades from his face. Law regarded the two men silently. Kirkby was gawking.

"Captain, did you..?" the teen started to ask.

"Interesting," Law interrupted. "Medically speaking it makes no sense, but Devil Fruit powers are indeed something else..."

"Okay that's it, Captain, what did you do?" asked Shachi, now not wearing his signature sun shades.

"You tell me, who are you," Law asked.

"I'm Penguin," said Shachi.

"I'm Shachi," said Penguin. The two engineers looked at each other as they said this and paled slightly as what had happened to them started to sink in.

"You swapped them somehow.." Kirkby breathed in awe.

"I switched their hearts. Why that also switched their personalities is beyond me though. My professional hypothesis is Devil Fruit powers don't make any sense," Law explained.

"That's fine and all, but can you switch us back? Penguin's body just fells weird," whined Shachi, from Penguin's mouth. Law shrugged and swiftly swapped their hearts again. The two engineers were relieved to be back in their own bodies.

"You're all dismissed. Actually, will you send Rina in here? I need to ask her something," Law asked them. They all nodded and left the lab once again, and all Law could do now was wait.

0~0~0

"No no no, like this," Anyu instructed, moving Rina's arms for her. The ex-noble allowed her arms to go limp so the cook could move them freely. Anyu had offered to teach her some martial arts, but showing Rina correct form was proving somewhat difficult.

"Imagine that yer a liquid, just let yourself flow," the cook offered. She stepped away from Rina and waited. Taking a deep breath to focus, Rina put herself in the correct starting pose and then started the warmup movements she was attempting to learn. She went through the steps as fluidly as she could.

"How was that?" Rina asked once she had finished.

"It was better than last time," Anyu offered. She was about to say something else when Rina sensed Penguin and Shachi approaching them. Anyu must have seen them because she offered a greeting to them.

"What do you two want?" she asked.

"Nothing really. Just here to tell Rina that Captain wants to see her for something," Penguin informed them. Rina tilted her head.

"Did he want to see me now?" she asked.

"Yeah, he did. He should still be in his lab," Shachi told her. She nodded, thanked Anyu for the lesson, and headed towards Law's quarters. She honestly had no idea what he wanted to see her about, as he had given her an official check up and given her a clean bill of health a few days ago. She also knew he had been holding medical experiments the past few days, and she hoped she wasn't needed for one. Rina knocked on his lab door.

"It's open," he called. She let herself in and was immediately greeted by the various scents of the medical room. It smelled of sterilizers and steel, with the lingering scent of blood always present. There was also Law's natural scent, which she had started to memorize. She was starting to memorize everyone on the crew's scent by now.

"What did you need from me?" she asked.

"I just wanted to ask you something," Law said. Rina went to where she knew he usually kept a stool for sitting. Finding it, she sat and focused her attention on him.

"You said a few weeks ago that if you had the chance to see, you would take it," he started. Rina held her breath. Was he really saying what she thought he was saying?

"I've been doing some research and I've found a way to give you sight, if you're willing," he finished. Rina was speechless. Law seemed content to let her sit there, and she did for several minutes. Rina had always wanted to be able to see. Being born blind, she had no idea what light and colors were like. She only knew of shapes through touch, but she longed to see all of the faces and things she had ever felt. But at the same time, she could experience the world like no one else. Rina could hear, smell, taste, and feel things others would never notice.

"Will I lose the strength of my other senses?" she finally asked.

"I doubt it. You've lived almost 20 years completely dependent on your other senses, so I doubt they would weaken. Now I should tell you that yes, you'll be able to see, but your vision will probably still be very weak, and you'll probably need glass-"

"But I will be able to see. Colors and faces and objects?" she cut in.

"Yes."

"Then I'll do it."

0~0~0

Law entered his lab. He had woken up about an hour ago, and was just now returning from eating something in the kitchen. It was time to prepare for Rina's operation, which he had scheduled her for in another hour. If all went well, Rina would be fully healed from her surgery right around the same time the Sub would be done being updated. Law was anxious to finally head back out to sea, now that he had more of plan to go against Joker. The plan was going to take a few years at the shortest, so Law was eager to get it underway as soon as possible. He didn't have much to prepare, as he kept his workplace spotless. Within a few minutes he had everything adequately prepped for the blind girl's arrival. He even had the dead girl's eyes already removed and set aside, since he had taken them out last night before he went to bed. There was a knock at his lab door.

"Come in Rina," he called, carrying the box with the eyes towards the operating table. Rina entered, looking tired.

"Well, I'm here, where do you want me?" she asked. Law placed the box down.

"Sit here," he instructed. He made quick work of giving her one final check before instructing her to lay down on the table. In a few minutes he had her hooked up to an IV. As she nodded off, he pulled on his surgical gloves with a *snap*.

"Good luck, Capta-..." she started to say, but she couldn't stay awake long enough. Law smirked and pulled his surgical mask over his nose and mouth before enveloping them in his blue room.

0~0~0

"Rina." Everything was still dark. Dark and scratchy. Rina yawned and resettled herself in her bed.

"Riiiina."

"Dammit let me sleep my lessons can wait..." Rina mumbled.

"For the love of god wake up Rina," Anyu's voice said, louder this time. Rina looked around and involuntarily brought a hand to her face. Bandages covered her eyes.

"Captain says it will take about two and a half weeks for everything to heal completely," Anyu said. Rina nodded, she had already known this. For some reason she hadn't thought she would have bandages. She felt silly now though, why wouldn't she have bandages? It had been a pretty large operation on her eyes.

"Am I allowed to go back to our room?" Rina asked.

"Girly yer in our room, Captain carried ya in her after he was done," Anyu laughed. Rina felt herself flush.

"He didn't have to do that.." she muttered.

"He said it was because the drugs in yer system would disorient yer senses when ya first woke up, so he just carried ya in here," Anyu explained. Rina had to agree with this. The more she focused, the more her surroundings made less sense.

"So do ya feel any different?" Anyu asked.

"Well it's scratchy now, cause bandages. Other wise no. I'm probably not gonna notice anything different for a couple days," Rina said. She didn't tell Anyu that her eyes did feel a little strange. I wasn't quite pain, but it was uncomfortable. Rina was expecting this though, since Law had literally cut into her eyes. There was bound to be some discomfort as her eyes healed.

0~0~0

The next few days Rina did start to notice a difference. Whenever light would hit her face, it no longer stayed dark. A brilliant warm hue would splash across her world. When she inquired about this to Anyu, she learned that is was the color red.

"Red is so warm," Rina said happily.

"If this is how you react to one color I can't wait to see how you react to the rest of 'em," laughed Anyu. When Law learned that she was able to notice light he called her in to his lab.

"I'm taking off the bandages, but you still can't open your eyes fully," he warned. Rina sat obediently as he freed her head of the wrappings. Law then partially opened one of her eyelids to check how it was healing. The first thing Rina noticed when he did this was pure light. It was brighter than the red she could see behind her eyelids.

"Interesting. Your eyes are almost healed already, but what do you see out of this eye?" Law asked, allowing her to open one eye. Rina blinked and then moved her eye around.

"Um..well this is new. It's all very fuzzy. I think I can see your outline, but it all blends together," she said, her voice full of wonder.

"Can you see colors?"

"Well I only really know red...and I can see some red somethings in here.."

"How to describe color...You know black, right? Black is darkness."

"Okay.."

"White is the opposite of black," Law offered. Rina scrunched her brow as she processed this information.

"So white is like...light?" she asked.

"Yes. Now focus on me. Do you see a color that is bright like white but a little warmer?" She focused on him.

"Is there something black mixed with this color on you?"

"Yes good. I have a black mark on my jacket, but it's mainly yellow. If you can see this much already I think I'm going to just put lightweight eye patches over your eyes," he said. Rina couldn't seem to contain her smile.

"Yellow, ok," she said, still grinning like a fool. They were silent as Law got the patches for her eyes and positioned them on her face, but the smile still remained.

0~0~0

The next few days went by uneventfully. Law was to busy with putting his medical bay back together on the Sub to train Rina like he had before, so he left it to his crew to do so. It didn't hurt her eyes to train a little, so he still encouraged it. The surgeon sighed as he watched the ex-noble training with Shachi as a few other crew members sat on the sidelines. They didn't know he was watching, since he had finished moving his medication storage back onto the Sub early.

It was subtle, but the girl had some sort of effect on him. She constantly surprised him and he had discovered he rather liked being surprised by her. He never knew how she was going to react to something, but it was usually amusing. While he didn't mind the way she entertained him, Law was still wary of whatever it was going on. It wasn't like Rina was the first female on the crew, but Anyu had not affected him at all when she had joined. As Law watched her train, he noticed that she seemed more nimble than before, and was dodging attacks easier than before as well. Curious, he focused on her more, soon realizing that she was watching Shachi's shadow as he moved across her path. Smiling, he went towards the training area. The crew noticed him coming and quickly shuffled around to give him a place to stand with them. Rina and Shachi lightly sparred for a few more minutes before calling it a draw.

"Hello, Captain," Rina greeted, dabbing at her forehead with a towel someone handed her.

"I noticed that you can follow shadows now," he noted.

"Is that what they're called? I could sense them and noticed that where I sensed them is where light was being blocked.." she thought aloud.

"Anyway, Rina, I want you to come with me. I want to check your eyes," he told her. Rina nodded and followed him to his lab. It was practically gutted at this point, since Law had been moving everything back to the Sub. But he still had enough essentials for basic first aid and minor things. Rina sat down on the exam table that still resided in the room. Law could feel her nerves and subtle excitement rolling off of her in waves. His own haki skills paled in comparison to hers, but even he could sense the pent up feelings in her. The surgeon was suddenly struck with the realization that he would be the first person she ever saw. It was a strange honor, he supposed, but nonetheless he felt pleased by this knowledge. After a few moments he had everything removed from her face. She kept her eyes closed though.

"Okay, try opening them. If everything is still blurry then your eyes aren't taking the lenses very well.." he said, trailing off as she opened her eyes. The look that crossed her face that moment was something that would be burned into Law's memory forever. Pure, child-like wonder showed in her face as her eyes took everything in. He had seen those eyes while he had operated on them, but seeing them now while they were awake was completely different. They were a crisp green, and were now starting to dart around the room to take in the sights.

"Can you see?" he asked quietly, reluctant to interrupt her for some reason. The green eyes snapped over to him, and Law felt her gaze look him over from head to toe. He wished he could hear what was going on in her head.

"Yes," she finally breathed. "I can see everything."

"Let me check your eyes one last time and then you can go look around," he told her, reaching for his pen light.

0~0~0

Vivid. That's the word Rina decided fit everything she could now see. There was just so much of everything, and it was all so colorful and different. And then there was Law. Rina had always had a rough idea of what humans looked like based off touch. To actually see one though...Rina was speechless to describe it. The man currently checking her eyes...a human just like her, with hands and arms and a face. Rina looked down at her own hands after he checked her eyes. She looked up at his hands. His looked like hers did, just bigger. Law let her keep looking at him silently. She continued to analyze him thoroughly, especially his face. He had facial hair, and earrings. Things Rina would have never known unless she had felt his face before. And a fuzzy, soft looking hat sat on his head. Law finally spoke up.

"Do you want to see your own face?" he asked. Rina nodded, and Law motioned for her to come over. Almost hesitantly, Rina joined him by one of the cabinets in the lab. He opened one of them to reveal a mirror bolted to the inside of one of the doors. Rina stepped forward so she could see her face for the very first time. She stared at herself for a long time, studying her features. It was the same shape as Law's face, but the similarity ended there. Where his face was sharp, hers was soft. His skin was darker than hers as well. Everything about his face seemed harsh in comparison to hers.

"I look delicate," she finally said, lightly feeling her face. It was strange, feeling her face like she had done hundreds of times before, but now being able to see it as well. She moved a finger closer to her eye. "What color is this?" she asked.

"Your eyes are green," he replied softly. Something in his voice sounded off, causing Rina to look over at him. She had no idea how to read facial expressions, so she didn't know what troubled him. She looked back in the mirror.

"My hair, it's like yellow but different.."

"It's called blond hair. It's really more of a golden color," Law offered. She nodded, storing the information. Softly, she closed the cabinet and turned towards the captain. The whole thing seemed strangely intimate, with him witnessing her witness everything. He was the first human she had ever seen...she had a feeling she would be comparing everyone to him now. He visibly stiffened as she suddenly hugged him.

"Thank you Captain," she said, blinking back tears. Law awkwardly held his arms out, not sure where to put them. Rina ignored this and continued.

"Just...thank you for everything. For saving me from the wedding, for the new life, for the sight. You've actually done more for me than anyone else in my life before. And I don't know how often you get personally thanked for things so thank you," she finished, pulling away from him. He blinked dumbly as she headed for the door.

"...You don't have to thank me, Rina. I would do the same for anyone on my crew," he said softly. She smirked as she opened the door.

"I know. But I'm still gonna thank you." And with that, she was gone, leaving a blinking Law behind.


	5. Eye of the Beholder

Life had never been better for Rina. Anyu had helped her learn the difference between all of the colors, and one of Rina's new favorite things to do was to walk through the forest and just look at all of now she could put faces to everyone's voices and names. Anyu had been forced to teach her a whole slew of words for visual description.

Rina glanced over at the cook. She was taller than her, with bronze skin and a wild mane of dark curly hair. She wore a striped beanie that did little to contain her hair, and she also wore a more form-fitting version of the boiler suit that the rest of the crew wore. Rina still wore her own boiler suit tied around her waist instead of on fully. Now that she could see, she had decided she didn't like the way the suits looked.

Rina didn't fail to amuse the whole crew for a couple of days after she gained sight. She simply went around looking at everyone. Bepo was actually a walking, talking polar bear. Rina had stared at him open-mouthed for a good five minutes when she saw him. The bear had hung his head and muttered 'Sorry,' but she hadn't minded, instead going to pet his head.

"Frankly nothing about this crew surprises me anymore," she had declared. The rest of the crew was just as vibrant.

Shachi had brilliant red hair and Penguin had a silly hat. Comer was baby-faced like she had believed with wispy brown hair. Eider had spiky ink-colored hair behind his creepily smiling mask. Kirkby had adorable freckles splashed across his nose and cheeks, and a blue beanie that had a puff ball on top. Now that Rina thought about it, almost everyone on the crew sported some type of winter cap or hat.

"You should be the Hat Pirates, not the Heart Pirates," she joked one night at dinner. The crew members she was currently sitting by choked on their drinks as they laughed.

"Now that you mention it, you're right," chortled Nordur. He was one of the larger members of the crew, with a bald head and pencil thin mustache. Rina looked tiny seated next to him.

"What do you mean funny hats?" protested his brother, Hudson, the sharpshooter of the crew. Like his brother, he wore a mustache. The features that set him apart from Nordur were his goatee and a silly-looking top hat. Rina giggled.

"Like your hat, Hudson. What even is that thing?"

"It makes me look handsome," the sharpshooter huffed.

"See Penguin's hat makes sense, it's a PENGUIN," Rina continued, looking over at the engineer.

"Yeah and then there's Perry, what are you man, a ghost?" Penguin laughed. The man in question, Perry, was wearing some type of hoodie under his boiler suit that came to a thin point. He scowled as he shoved a forkful of food into his mouth.

"It's a normal thing to wear where I'm from. Those who were on the crew when I joined should remember the others on my island wearing them," he defended himself. They continued to squabble playfully among themselves, with Rina happily in the center of it all.

0~0~0

"Paint's dry and we're ready to sail, Cap'n!" announced Kakin, the shipwright and mechanic of the crew. He gave Law a thumbs up, which was almost comical with his solemn face under a billed beanie, his thumbs up coming from worn, oil-stained gloves.

"Excellent. Everyone, prepare to disembark. We leave as soon as possible!" Law informed everyone. The crew dissolved into an organized mob of excited babbling as they flitted about preparing for the journey. They would be leaving the buildings they had built for the base intact, so there wasn't a whole lot left to do. Law went ahead and entered the Sub ahead of everyone. He already had his things all ready in both his quarters and medical bay.

The changes they had made to the Sub were slight, but they still made a huge change. His med bay was just a little larger, and now laid out differently. His living quarters had also been made a tad larger, allowing for a closet and more floor space. There were other changes to the living space as well. Smaller bunk rooms had replaced the two barrack-style quarters they had previously. Now about 4 people could bunk together in a room. The control room remained the same, since Law liked its original setup and didn't want to confuse his crew by changing it now. The retractable rigging on the outside had been updated as well for when the Sub sailed on the surface like a normal ship, and a secondary top deck had been added opposite the original. It's function was purely recreational, and it also had a retractable glass dome so you could go on the deck even while submerged.

Yes, Law was happy with his improved ship. He walked to his quarters, enjoying the new spacious desk for his more personal projects. The surgeon sifted through some of the papers he already had piled on the desk, planning his next few moves. Various wanted posters and charts were among his papers. He paused on one wanted poster, and then checked a newspaper clipping, and then one of the charts.

This will be my first target, he decided, pinning two of the wanted posters on the wall above the desk. The two posters were for the same pirate, one of his first bounty and the second was his recent one. The bounty had started out as 20,000,000 beri, but it was currently at 90,000,000. He went by the name of 'Phantom Isadora,' and apparently had devil fruit powers. Since the Supernova crews had moved on to the New World, this Isadora's Ghost Pirates had become one of the top crews this side of the Grand Line. And he made the perfect first target for Law's plans.

0~0~0

"I don't know what I consider attractive.." Rina said, peering at the pages of a magazine that belonged to Anyu.

"Just look at them and pick out what seems pleasing to ya," sighed Anyu. Rina frowned and turned the page. She was still getting used to being able to see people as well as hear them, and physical appearance had very obviously never mattered to her. After a moment, she threw her head back and groaned.

"Anyu I have no idea!"

"Okay well how about this then," Anyu dug through some other magazines and newspapers she had in a box. Everything was currently in boxes, since they had just gotten all of their belongings back in their quarters on the Sub.

"Ah ha! Look at this fella. What is the first world you think of to describe him?" Anyu asked, smacking a newspaper down. Rina examined the photo in the paper. She had no idea what the article was about since she still had yet to learn how to read letters, but the man in the photo was printed in vivid color.

"He's...I don't know, but there's something about him I don't like," Rina admitted. The man was plump, with fat, blubbery lips and coarse looking black hair. His eyes were beady and too small for his face and scratchy stubble covered his jaw.

"That's because this is one UGLY sonovagun. He's the Celestial Dragon ya were gonna marry," Anyu told her. Rina let that sink in as she studied his picture some more. The longer she looked at him, the more repulsed she became. That...person would have been able to do whatever he pleased with her, and it made her sick to her stomach.

"They say that ignorance is bliss...blindness is the ultimate ignorance then.." she muttered, shoving the paper away.

"So would ya ever wanna touch that or have it touch you?" Anyu pressed. Rina wrinkled her nose.

"No, I would not," she said.

"So again, I ask, would ya want THESE people to touch you and to touch them? If ya know what I mean?" Anyu asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Rina rolled her eyes and snatched the magazine from the cook. This time she asked herself if she would want to 'touch' the model on the page or not. Rina squinted at the first one.

"He's too large," she said slowly, "that much muscle just looks kinda funny."

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere," Anyu chuckled. Together, they leafed through various magazines and newspapers simply looking at people of all shapes and sizes. Rina didn't tell Anyu, but she found herself liking the men that were built like Law. It was probably nothing, or simply because Law had been the first human she had ever seen, but she had a feeling Anyu would blow it way out of proportion. Suddenly, the sound of a baby transponder snail ringing came from Anyu's pocket.

"Are you going to start dinner any time soon?" Law's smooth voice asked through the snail.

"Yes Captain, on my way," she sighed, clicking the snail off.

"Well, duty calls," she said, grinning at Rina. "At least now we have an idea of what kind of guys you're into."

Rina just nodded, not trusting herself to say anything.

0~0~0

"There is a ship with...a crew of about 40, getting closer..." Rina said, her eyes closed in concentration. Law looked over to Comer, who sat behind the Sub's various instruments. Comer squinted as he read the readings and listened to the headset he had on.

"We're definitely gaining on a ship, but I have no way of telling how many are on board," he informed them.

"One of the people on board...he feels like you do, Captain. A strangeness to his aura," Rina added.

"Like a Devil Fruit?" Law asked. Rina nodded, her eyes still closed. Law pondered his choices for a moment.

"Position us just starboard of the enemy vessel. I want to come up right next to them. Everyone prepare for battle," he announced to the control room. Everyone nodded and rushed to where they were needed. Law announced the upcoming battle over the Sub's intercom system as well.

Rina stayed in the control room, since Law had instructed her to stay with him until they surfaced. She was acutely aware of every second that passed, making it seem lurk hours until she heard and felt the Sub break the surface of the water.

"This way, Rina-ya," Law called. She followed his back as he left the control deck and headed for the outside deck. The sounds surrounding them were a pandemonium as the Sub's crew buzzed about, and as as the rival crew panicked at the sight of them. The haki that rolled off both ships was so strong she could practically taste it; excitement and anticipation from her own crew, with fear and confusion coming from the other ship. Rina closed her eyes, allowing herself to be blind and rely on her senses as she used to, while still following Law. She focused her haki more fully on the other crew, eavesdropping on snippets of their conversations.

"Where did they come from?"

"Get the captain!"

"Why are the Heart Pirates here?"

"Take this," Law said suddenly, breaking Rina's concentration. She fixed her gaze on the captain to see him holding a staff of some kind towards her.

"You have the most experience fighting with sticks since we haven't moved you up to other kinds of weapons yet, so just use this staff for now," he told her. She took the weapon from him.

"This will be fine, thank you," she said.

"And Rina-ya?" he focused his eyes on hers. "Try not to die, okay?"

"Of course," she replied levelly, breaking the eye contact. Law nodded, and then continued their trek to the outer deck.

0~0~0

"I would like to speak with your Captain," Law called out to the pirate ship. It wasn't the biggest ship he had come across, only big enough for a crew of around 40. It was painted white, and the sails sported a ghostly skull and cross bones.

"And why would you want to speak to the Phantom?" challenged a crew member, most likely the first mate. He was a lanky fellow, dressed in a short black robe with gray trousers.

"So I can discuss the terms of your surrender," Law grinned, a sadistic smile working its way onto his face. The first mate made a sound of protest and then shouted something about battle.

"Law, their Captain is about to use his power," Rina murmured from behind him. He glanced briefly at the girl before refocusing on the other pirates. Rina's eyes had been scrunched shut, her lip set in a grim line. Law snapped his hand up and activated his own Devil Fruit, letting it engulf both the Sub and the second ship in his blue room.

Battle erupted on the decks of both vessels. Law stayed at his slightly higher vantage point, observing his crew make quick work of the other crew.

"Rina can you sense where the Captain is?" he asked her.

"He's coming on deck now. He'll be the next one you see," she informed him. Law nodded, putting his hand on his nodachi in preparation.

"There," Rina pointed. Law followed her point to see the wanted man appear on deck. Captain Phantom Isadora was ghostly pale in his completion, with silvery-purple hair contrasting against his skin.

"Shambles," Law said, using his ability to shift himself next to Isadora. His nodachi was now out, and he was moving towards the rival Captain with blinding speed when he heard it.

"HE'S USING HIS POWERS!" Rina's voice called over the battle. Law attempted to stop his momentum, but it was to late. His sword passed through the Phantom harmlessly, as if the man was literally a ghost.

"Surely the Surgeon o Death can do better?" sneered Isadora. Law had to resist rolling his eyes. "My Phase-Phase Fruit allows me to phase through anything, and for anything to phase right through me. You can't harm me!" the other Captain contained.

"Look at your crew," Law said, drawing a scalpel from his pocket. The Phantom did so, visibly starting when he saw most of crew being defeated.

"Phantom Isadora," Law said, idly playing with the razor sharp blade, "do you plan on going to the New World? Because you seem painfully ill-prepared for even this part of the Grand Line," Law said, his voice deadly cold. Isadora looked back at him, a single drop of sweat rolling down his face.

"But you..you can't hurt me.." he stuttered.

"Ever hear of haki?" Law asked lazily, bringing his now black scalpel back up.

"Heard of wha-urkAGH!" Isadora choked out, having been interrupted by Law's scalpel suddenly going deep into his chest. With lightning speed, Law quickly removed the instrument and the man's heart. Isadora fell to his knees immediately, staring blankly at his heart in Law's hand.

"I now own your life. Remember that," Law said, squeezing the heart slightly. The Phantom hollered in pain and clutched at the hole in his chest until Law released his grip.

"Why? I can't possibly continue to sail freely after this? Do you want our allegiance? Because we will give it," Isadora wheezed painfully. Law pulled a small box from his coat and placed the heart within it. Turning to his own crew, Law barked a simple command.

"Search the ship, take anything of value." As the deck bustled with activity once more, Law's eyes inevitably went over to Rina. Unlike the rest of the crew, she stood completely still, staring directly at him. When she noticed his gaze, she held it for a moment before averting her eyes. Law didn't know what to make of her expression. She had looked conflicted, even a little angry. Now she just looked depressed. With a growl, the surgeon pushed the matter from his mind and focused on the task at hand, searching the ship.

0~0~0

"You notice Ms. Rina's been kinda quiet?" Kirkby asked, his chin resting on his hands. Anyu gave a bowl of batter she was mixing a few more good stirs before she answered the boy.

"Yeah, I've noticed. I can't get the girl to open up about it neither.." the cook trailed off as she put more flour into her mix.

"It's been since we've started going after other pirate crews I've noticed-" Kirkby started to say, only to stop mid-sentence as Law came into the galley. The Captain glanced at them, obviously having heard the conversation they had been having. Kirkby paused, shifting his eyes between Anyu and Law. When it became obvious that the boy wasn't going to continue what he had been saying, the Captain scowled slightly and left the galley. Once he was out of sight, Kirkby gave Anyu a puzzled look. "What's going on with the Captain? I've noticed he's been on edge as well." Anyu didn't answer right away, simply choosing to stand there and chew on the edge of her thumb in thought.

"Well, Captain Law is a complicated fellow, to be sure.." she mused aloud, "and there's prolly' more than one thing eating at 'em. But I do have one hunch about one thing."

"What is it?" Kirkby asked.

"Now listen here, boy, this is strictly between ya an' myself, got it?"

"O-of course," Kirkby gulped, fearing Anyu's wrath but still eager to hear what she had to say. "I think the Captain has a bit of a soft spot for Miss Rina," Anyu declared. Kirkby tilted his head at her.

"You can't be serious," he said. The cook gave him a mischievous grin.

"Oh, I'm dead serious, Kirkby. And I believe the missy might have some feelings of her own...which may explain why she's been so peculiar since we fought those Phantom Pirate doofs," she added. Kirkby leaned back in his seat, still looking unconvinced.

"I don't know Anyu, not even Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi have ever seen Law get hung up on a girl, and they've been with him since the beginning," he said. Anyu chuckled, turning away from the boy and back to her mixing bowl.

"One day you'll understand, Kirkby, but remember, no one ever plans for romance. But things are likely to get very interesting on the Sub from here on out."

0~0~0

Law was late to dinner. Anyu had made fried fish, steamed veggies, and biscuits. The crew was rowdy as ever, goofing off as all crews tended to do during meals. Law ignored them, instead grabbing a plate and helping himself to only the fish and vegetables. He scanned the crew subconsciously. It did not escape his notice that a certain blond was not present. She hadn't been to dinner in a few weeks, and what had once been concern was turning into annoyance. His face set into a grim expression, Law took his food out of the galley, wanting to eat his meal in solitude. He did not notice however, the crews' equally worried and amused glances in his direction.

He headed towards the new top observation deck, the prospect of eating with a view of the ocean appealing to him. They were currently submerged, so the underwater view promised to be stunning. It took little time for the Heart Captain to reach the door to the deck, but as soon as he stepped foot on it, he halted in his tracks. Rina looked up from the center of the deck, looking startled. An empty plate sat in front of her, and a small stack of books and paper sat at her side. Law regarded her coolly, and eyed the empty plate. He had no idea she was here, but it was a pleasant surprise. The former noble regarded him with equal coolness, her green eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at him. 

"Now what did I do?" he asked innocently. Rina sighed, returning her focus to a book.

"I don't rightly know, Captain," she said. Law quirked a brow at her reading selection.

"A History of Modern Piracy? I see Kirkby has been lending you some of his collection," he noted.

"Ever since Anyu taught me how to read normal letters I've been reading everything I can," Anyu said, motioning to the stack of books next to her. "I've about exhausted Kirkby's stash though."

"I have quite the extensive library, you know," Law offered, a sly grin creeping onto his face. Rina noticed this and narrowed her eyes again.

"There's a catch, isn't there," she asked.

"I'll take you to my book collection, but you have to tell me why you've been avoiding me," he said smugly, moving to sit across from her. Rina huffed, crossing her arms and looking away from him. When he didn't do anything, she sighed and gave up.

"You confuse me. Piracy confuses me," she finally admitted.

"Why is that?" Law asked, genuinely curious.

"You're all so, nice. But then we get into a fight, and everything changes. Especially you. You get..cold. And the fights we've been haven't exactly been random either. You've been hunting out specific pirate crews, and then you take their hearts for some reason. Acting downright gleeful sometimes when you do it...and I'm just not sure of I know which side you is real anymore," she explained, avoiding eye contact the whole time. Law threw back his head and laughed, startling Rina. "W-what's so funny?" she demanded.

"Rina, the first thing you need to realize is that all pirates do what they do for a reason. And we have to able to have two sides of ourselves. The bad pirates don't know how to have two sides. And I assure you," he said, leaning in close to her face, drilling his gray eyes into her green ones, "that both the Captain you know here, outside of combat, and the Surgeon of Death you see outside, are both very much the 'real' me," he whispered.

Rina was very still as he pulled away from her. She seemed to be having an internal conflict of some kind, as she eventually scrunched her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists. Law watched her silently fume to herself, an amused expression on his face. Suddenly, her eyes popped open and she looked straight at him.

"Fine," she said.

"Fine?" he inquired.

"Fine, I'll keep trusting you for now. And if you trust me, I hope one day you'll tell me what crazy plan you have that requires so many pirate hearts," she told him. Law grinned. "You're perceptive," he praised, "but not even Bepo knows of my plans. What makes you think I'll tell you, the newest member?" Rina looked down.

"I have a feeling you will, even if you don't yet realize.."

"Bullshit," he spat. She looked up again, her expression blank. "What makes you think that? You surely must have a reason you think this," he demanded. She held his gaze for a moment, and then seemed to shrug.

"If you really must know, Captain, your haki feels different when you're with me. When you move about the Sub with other crew members you have a different feel to your haki. I've noticed during some of my training exercises," she explained. Law didn't know what to think of this.

"My haki...feels different?" he asked.

"Yes, I don't know how to explain it properly...but when it's just you and me, it's almost feels more...pleasant. Softer, even. Warmer. You seem more peaceful, for whatever reason," she said softly. Law let that sink in for a moment. What she was implying...no, it couldn't be true. The naive girl probably had no idea what she was implying anyway. Worried, Law stood.

"Well, now that we have that settled. Stop avoiding me. When we first met you said you wanted to be free. Nothing is more free than being a pirate," he said. After a slight pause, he added, "and when you want to see my books just let me know." With that, he vacated the observation deck as quickly as could. He needed to be alone.

0~0~0

Rina continued to sit on the observation deck, silently watching the underwater scenery. The door opened again, and Rina half expected it to be Law again. It turned out be Anyu.

"Hey, hun. You okay? I'm here for yer plate," the cook announced. Rina rubbed her eyes.

"Oh, I'm fine, just have a bit of a headache, it's probably from reading in the dark.."

"Cap'n's got painkillers if ya need 'em ya know," Anyu offered. Rina shook her head.

"I already exhausted conversation with him earlier. I'll deal with him tomorrow," she said.

"Oh? So the Cap'n and ya saw each other? How did that go? I know ya had some slight strife or something with 'em," Anyu pried, giving her a sly look.

"We sorted whatever it was out. I just need to be a better pirate I guess," Rina sighed, collecting her books and standing. Anyu pursed her lips at the girl, before shrugging and following her out of the observation room. The cook continued onto the galley with her empty plate, while Rina headed to their shared quarters. Once inside, Rina flicked on the light and picked up a book by her bedside. It was a romance novel titled 'The Privateer,' that belonged to Anyu, who collected such books. The cook had thrust the book on her as soon as she had mastered reading, saying it was 'vital to her life's education,' whatever that meant. Regardless, Rina found herself drawn into the story of a princess flirting with danger in the form of her father's private pirate captain. This was how Anyu found her, hunched over the book, squinting at the pages.

"Why ya reading like that, Rina?" Anyu asked as she came in.

"Oh? I didn't even notice. It's just more clear when I do that," Rina said, putting the book away and blinking as she did so.

"So do ya like it?" Anyu asked, a huge grin on her face.

"Well...yes, but so many things don't make sense..." Rina started.

"Like what?" Anyu pried, sitting on the ground across from Rina.

"Why do women worry so much about clothes and makeup? I never understood it blind, but I still don't really know much about it.."

"Oh Rina, I think it's time for another lesson," Anyu said, standing and pulling Rina off the bed. She dragged her to a mirror they had set up on the back of the room's door.

"Take a good long look at yerself, Rina," Anyu instructed. Rina stared at herself, trying to figure out what the cook was getting at. She was so engrossed with her own reflection that she didn't notice the older woman rummaging in a chest.

"Now come here," said Anyu. Rina did so, and found that Anyu was holding folds of white fabric. Bits of pink lace were also visible, and other parts that seemed to be gossamer-thin and sheer as well.

"What is that?" Rina asked, instinctively reaching to touch it.

"This is that wedding dress ya had on when Cap'n snatched ya away. Now take off yer clothes, we're gonna put this on ya," Anyu told her.

"Oh, um, okay," Rina replied. As quickly as she could, Rina removed the shirt and boiler suit she had tied around her middle. With Anyu's help, Rina slipped into the delicate garment. The fabric felt just like she remembered, unbelievably soft and light. But this time, she could also see the exquisite fabric.

"Now look at yerself," Anyu said, pulling her in front of the mirror once again. Rina felt her draw drop. The dress was gorgeous, and the way it draped over her body left Rina speechless. It was snug around her torso, but delightfully flowed around her legs and arms. The pink lace and gossamer perfectly accentuated everything, drawing attention to her well-proportioned curves.

"This is why ladies make a fuss about dresses," Anyu declared, "but as it's late, I'll show you the wonders of makeup tomorrow."

"Okay, if you say so," Rina agreed. Anyu helped her out of the dress before they settled into bed. Sleep did not come easy to Rina, however. Her mind was abuzz from her book, from the dress, and from her earlier conversation with Law.

0~0~0

"Just get in here," Anyu insisted. Law looked up from the newspaper he was reading at one of the galley tables. He always came in early to get a cup of coffee, and was now privy to whatever drama Anyu was dragging in. And if that wasn't odd enough, the cook wasn't dressed in her usual fitted boiler suit. She was dressed in slim-fitting skinny jeans and a yellow crop-top.

"There's no one in here," Anyu fibbed, glancing in his direction. Law raised his eyebrows as he sipped his coffee. Finally, the person who Anyu was talking to came in. Despite himself, Law's eyes widened in surprise. It was Rina, but she was also dressed differently than usual. She sported a sleeveless green sundress with brown boots. Her golden hair was down and held back with a hair band. She noticed Law immediately, and her face went scarlet.

"Anyu! The Captain's here!" she protested. Law did his best to act indifferent, despite his surprise.

"Why are you ladies so dressed up today?" he asked calmly, sipping his coffee.

"Valuable life lessons Miss Rina needs learnin'," Anyu informed him, dragging Rina to his table. A very pink Rina was now sitting across from him, looking at her lap. Now that both women were up close, he noticed that both wore makeup as well.

"Also, Cap'n, after breakfast, ya should take a look at Rina's peepers. I think she needs glasses, after seeing the way the girl reads," the cook added, leaving Rina at the table with him. Law turned a page in his newspaper.

"Well she did used to be blind," he said dryly. Anyu stifled a chuckle and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving them alone.

"Itoldhernottotellyoudammit..." Rina muttered, still not looking at him.

"What, that you need glasses?" Law asked, looking up from his paper.

"Needing glasses means having an appointment with you, doesn't it?" Rina asked him.

"Well, sorry," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Rina puffed her cheeks and glowered at him. Law chuckled as he drained the last of his coffee.

Deciding to toy with her a bit, he asked in the same sarcastic tone,"Where are my manners, Miss? Would you like some coffee?" She glared at him even harder somehow.

"Anyu's going to bring it out soon enough-" Rina started, but was cut off by the Captain engulfing the galley in one of his blue rooms.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sounding skeptical. Law just grinned and gave a lazy flick of his hand, causing the coffee pot and an extra mug to appear on the table.

"Dammit Cap'n!" squawked Anyu from the kitchen. Rina rolled her eyes at his actions. Law poured them both full cups of the steaming liquid, and pushed one towards Rina. She held the cup to her nose, inhaling the scent of the fresh brew.

"So why are you two dressed up?" Law asked, hoping to get a better answer out of her than what Anyu had given.

"Well, I was curious as to what the whole deal was dresses and makeup, so Anyu said I had to experience it for myself. So she put all this on me," Rina said, motioning to herself. Law used this opportunity to give he girl a proper once-over.

"It suits you," he offered, testing to see what he could get away with saying. Her blush spread to her ears.

"Oh, just shut it," she snapped, quickly gulping down some of her coffee. They sat in silence like that for a while, with nothing but the sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen. Law picked up his paper and acted like he was reading it, when really, he was deep in thought. The girl obviously had some sort of effect on him, but he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to label it yet. He admitted that he found her attractive, fitting his tastes in both appearance and mental capacity. Yet he didn't want to call it lust, for he found the idea of simply pursuing a crew member in that fashion distasteful. He closed his eyes and resisted the urge the sigh heavily.

*But Anyu is just as attractive, and I don't give her a second thought...* Then again, Anyu had never given him a second glance either since joining the crew. Even as he thought about it, Law couldn't help but think of more and more reasons why Anyu would not make him a good match. His breath hitched as his brain went over that phrase, 'good match,' causing him to choke on the coffee he had been sipping.

"You alright?" Rina asked, genuine concern laced into her voice. The Captain collected himself as best he could, proceeding to hide himself behind his paper once again.

"Yes," he managed to get out. Rina looked skeptical, but continued to refill her coffee. Law reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. No! He could not actually develop feelings for Rina. Not with what he had planned. Plus, it would just be another weakness for him to worry about. He banished all of these 'good match' thoughts from his mind.

By this time, other members of the crew had started to wander into the galley, most likely lured in by the savory smells. Anyu had already started to put out the trays of food. The other crew members groggily started to grab plates and fill them. Law stood himself, accidentally at the same moment Rina did. He suppressed yet another chuckle, but otherwise ignored her as he scanned the rest of the crew. He gave them only a few more moments before one of them noticed. Sure enough, Penguin was yawning as he shuffled over to the food trays just as Anyu came out of the kitchen to refill one. He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he approached, stopped suddenly, looked up and down at Anyu, and then blurted,

"Anyu what are you wearing?!" The cook placed a hand on her hip, giving the poor man a suggestive look.

"Just clothes. Why, Penguin? See somethin' ya like?" she asked, winking playfully. Of course, the exchange between the two had gotten the attention of the rest of the crew. Law could practically feel their mixed confusion, interest, and attraction. He rolled his eyes and left his table, expecting Rina to follow him. He made it to where Penguin was standing when he noticed Rina was still standing at the table.

"Coming, Rina?" he asked innocently. The gazes in the room shifted to her. Behind him, Law heard Anyu chuckle. Rina's head was down, and she seemed to be concentrating. Taking a deep breath, she held her head up high, and completely calm, proceeded to walk towards the food trays to join him. Her face was full of determination, and she walked with the same noble grace she had when he had first seen her. But now, with her bright green eyes, her simple dress, and the free air surrounding her, it was breathtaking to watch. Law masked his reaction as best as he could and turned to the food, quickly filling a plate and returning to his seat. He was joined by Penguin and Shachi, Bepo, Jean-Bart, and Anyu once she finished placing out all the food. Rina also joined them, mainly because Anyu was there. Law could still feel the crew's confusion and interest towards the girls. The interest towards Rina was making him somewhat grumpy, much to his annoyance. He was going to have to brood over all of this after he gave the damn girl her eye examination. His preemptive brooding was cut off though, by Comer's voice over the loudspeaker.

"Guys, there's a Navy ship incoming!" Law cursed, shoved the rest of his hash brown patty into his mouth, and stood. They were currently surfaced, as they often had to do to perform routine inspections to the outside of the Sub, and they must have been spotted. The rest of the crew scrambled to get into battle positions. Whatever the problem he seemed to be developing about Rina would have to wait until later.

0~0~0


	6. The Duchess

"Dive dive dive!" Law shouted, all previous thoughts from breakfast long forgotten. Penguin, Shachi, Bepo, and Rina were hot on his heals as he ran into the control room. Comer was watching his instruments, sweat drops covering his brow.

"Captain! They came out of nowhere!" the chubby man wailed. Law grabbed an intercom snail and started yelling orders into it.

"GET THIS SUB UNDERWATER YESTERDAY! Somebody get me eyes on these guys!" There was a brief scurry of activity as the crew members hurried to obey the commands. Rina stood silently next to Law, closing her eyes and fanning out her haki.

"We've got a warship coming straight for us, baby," announced Musu, a crew member with a huge blond pompadour. He was manning the periscope.

"Musu's right," Rina confirmed, "from the feel of it, I'd say about 100 marines." Law chewed his lip. The Sub lurched suddenly as the crew below decks released air from the ballast tanks.

"Rina! Can you guide Jean-Bart directly under the ship?" Law asked. Rina simply nodded. Suddenly, the entire vessel shuddered.

"What was that?" yelped Bepo, throwing his paws in the air. Rina moved her head slightly to he left, opening her eyes as turned back to Law.

"I can feel vibrations in the water shooting through it all around us. I think they're firing cannonballs into the water near us," she informed him. Another shudder shook the Sub.

"We've been hit near the engine room, Captain!" came Kakin's voice, "nothings been breached yet but it would not be good if we took another hit like that!"

"We need speed, to outrun the bastards! Rina! Directions!" Law ordered.

"Jean-Bart! Dive down as far as you dare and then move the Sub 245 degrees to port!" Rina yelled. Honestly, she was just glad she was starting to remember the correct sailing terms.

"Prepare for another dive!" Law repeated into the intercom snail.

"Aye," Jean-Bart said, turning the wheel. The Sub lurched hard, causing Rina and a few other standing crew members to loose their footing. Law caught her around her middle before she landed on her nose. He kept a hold of her, since the sudden decent downward was rather steep.

"Dive complete," Jean-Bart announced. The thudding of the cannonballs sounded farther away now, and none were hitting the Sub. "Moving to port," the large man continued, turning the wheel as he spoke. Rina glanced up at her Captain.

"You can put me down now," she said, irritated.

"Then learn better balance, Rina," he chided, using the opportunity to tease her. He still put her down though. With cheeks slightly pink, Rina brought herself to her full height, attempting to regain her dignity.

"Jean-Bart, if you please," she said, "begin our ascent once you have moved fully 245 degrees, then move forward while rising as fast as you can!"

"Aye," Jean-Bart replied.

"What are you planning?" Law asked.

"I'm going to have us ram the underside of the ship and then pop out behind them," she replied, "didn't you want to surprise them?"

"Hm," Law smirked, turning to his intercom snail again, "everyone, this is Law. Prepare to board the marine warship as soon as we breach the surface!"

"AAAAAYE!" came the unanimous cry of everyone. There were several tense, silent moments as the Sub quickly shot up.

"Any moment now," Rina announced.

"Brace for impact!" Law yelled. With a mighty thud, they hit the underbelly of the warship. A terrible grinding noise sounded through the hull as they dragged along the bottom until suddenly, all was silent.

"Y-y-yeah, baby! We've surfaced! How do you like that, huh?" crowed Musu, who had taken a tentative peek through the periscope.

"All hands, attack!" Law hollered. Everyone poured out of the Sub, finding themselves directly behind the warship just as Rina had said. The alarmed shouts of the marines could be heard as they realized what was going on. One of the men, most likely the leader, came into view.

"Trafalgar Law!" he called out, "I am Commander Coble! I am arresting you and demand you return the kidnapped noblewoman, Lanulla Rina! Your bounty was already raised to 350,000,000 beri because of this! Surrender now!" Law was about to step forward and respond, but was stopped by Rina. "Let me talk to him," she said, her eyes sharp. Law looked at her a moment before nodding, allowing her to go before him. Rina walked out in front of the whole crew and looked directly at the marine Commander.

"I am her," she called up calmly.

"Oh thank goodness, your parents are worried sick about y-" the Commander started, but was cut off by Rina raising her hand.

"Stop. I have something to say," she said. It was completely silent as she drew herself up, her old regal air returning and demanding the attention to be focused on her.

"I, Lanulla Fareadia Paramel Rina, eldest daughter in the royal side family of the Island Nation Ausria, daughter of Grand Duke Lanulla Grinduer Jaqen Breton, younger brother of the King himself, do hereby cast away all of my titles and rank and any ties previously held. This includes my engagement to our distant relatives, the Celestial Dragons, and I have the following to say. I, Lanulla Rina, swear my loyalty to Trafalgar Law, Captain of the Heart Pirates, and to the very sea we sail! A noble, I am no longer! Now, I am a pirate, free to sail upon these waters!" She brandished her quarterstaff towards the marines. "You lot can tell THAT to my parents!" A roar of approval rose up from her crew mates, and with that, the battle began.

Rina was swept up with the crew as they practically flew onto the ship. In no time at all she found herself neck-deep in battle, cutting her way through marines with her quarterstaff. She kept her eyes lidded, only opening them when absolutely necessary, preferring to rely on her sharp senses and haki to fight. Because of this, she could feel what was happening in the battle around her. Perry was fighting with a navy swordsman, and Shachi was facing off a group solo. Bering was practically swatting away the marines that came after him like flies. The fighting continued, and Rina was surprised that she had not yet felt Law enter the fray.

"Ungrateful bitch," she heard someone snarl in her direction. The speaker lunged towards her, the slicing sound in the air near them telling her they were using a sword. A quick peek confirmed her suspicions. Releasing a breath, she pushed her haki even further, using it to feel where the marine was going to attack before hand. Rina would never admit this to anyone, but she loved this feeling she had when she used haki in this manner. It made her feel ethereal, like she was floating across the ground. Nimble as a feather, she neatly dodged the marine's messy attacks until she was behind him, giving him a good thwak on the head with her staff.

The fight seemed to be going well everywhere else as well, with Bepo and Jean-Bart fighting side by side, and Musu having a brawl-style fist fight with anyone who crossed his path. Rina was briefly alarmed when she noticed Anyu surrounded by a large number of the navy men. The cook was talented at martial arts, but the swarm surrounding her seemed to be a bit overwhelming. Rina spun and headed for her female friend. Anyu had already taken a few hits. She hadn't quite made it there however, when Penguin jumped in front of Anyu, fury heavy in his haki. Rina could only watch in mild amazement as he unleashed a level of fighting the former noble had never witnessed from him before. She even recognized the black of armament haki coating his fists and legs. Satifised that Anyu and Penguin were fine, Rina turned back towards the fray. She finally noticed Law, who seemed to be toying with the Commander. He had only created a small room and was enjoying torturing the poor man with his own severed limbs.

Suddenly, a high-pitched wail ripped through the air, bringing Rina to her knees. Her concentration was broken, and she clutched at her head in pain. She did notice a pair of feet walking towards her, and looked up to see a red-headed woman approaching her. Rina felt a cold trickle of dread when she realized what the woman was wearing..a vice-admiral's coat and hat. The woman stopped in front of her.

"I'm Vice-Admiral Prano," she announced, looking down at Rina, who was still pawing at her ears. "And I see that you are no longer blind, but your hearing is still powerful. The Surgeon's doing?" Rina glared up her.

"What did you do?" she growled, still hearing a slight ring in her ears.

"I had afeeling you would side with the pirates, so I decided to come along to convince you. As for that sound, I ate the Pitch-Pitch fruit, and became a perfect pitch woman. I can control any frequency of sound however I see fit, do you want another taste?" Prano opened her mouth and directed a wail directly at her. Rina felt it rather than hear, as a fast-paced vibration seemed to rattle her to her core. A scream escaped her lips as the frequency hit her ears and traveled through her skull. The pain was astounding, Rina couldn't think of anything more painful. There was a popping sound, and then a rush of warmth down her face, before Rina started to loose consciousness. Right before she did however, the largest amount of rage she had ever felt washed across her. She saw a flash of spots appear above her.

"L-Law?" she wheezed, confused, before she finally blacked out.

0~0~0

Law had stayed on the deck of the Sub as the rest of the crew rushed into battle. It was a good opportunity to let them have their fun, and for him to see how strong they currently were. He couldn't be the main fighting force every time now. Everyone was doing great, and the Navy crew seemed to shrink as more and more of them were taken out. And of course, Law noticed, his attention was drawn to a certain blond. He had to admire the way her training was starting to pay off, the way she seemed to dance across the deck as she dodged blows. Rina had to be using her haki to predict movement, and the way she moved when she did was simply spellbinding.

Growing a tad bored, and knowing that he should probably do something other than gawk, Law lept onto the enemy deck. The Commander was there when he landed, visibly paling when the pirate surgeon landed in front of him.

"Surely you must have more backbone?" Law jabbed, throwing a small room around them. Commander Coble gulped, but drew his sword anyway.

"Really now how did you get your rank? Or even this assignment?" Law asked, lazily swinging his nodachi. Coble's sword arm was promptly removed. The Heart Captain picked it up, and then swung his sword again. Sheathing his nodachi, Law was now armed with..well with two arms. Throwing the man's sword away, he made his two hands clap.

"Seriously, a man of your colors, I'm surprised you got this assignment at all," Law sneered. The Commander looked up at him, hatred in his eyes.

"It wasn't my assignment, it was hers," he spat.

"Hers?" Law inquired, grabbing the hilt of his nodachi, "choose your next words carefully."

"My ship was the only one in the port that was ready to sail, so that bastard of a woman Prano seized it for her mission, to seek you out and rescue Lanulla Rina," Cobler told him. "Like I would want to seek out the Surgeon of Death."

"Prano?" Law repeated, feeling his blood run cold. A shrill shriek tore through the air. "Vice-Admiral Prano?" he clarified. Cobler gave a weak nod. Commander forgotten, Law dispelled his room and swept the deck with his eyes. A red-headed woman was standing in front of Rina, who was clutching her head. The Vice-Admiral's mouth was open, but no sound could be heard. Law grit his teeth.

"Room," he uttered, holding nothing back. The blue sphere engulfed the whole ship, which did not go unnoticed by both crews. With the blink of an eye, Law had swapped himself with some barrel near Rina and Prano. With deadly silence, he closed in, nodachi already drawn. Rina seemed to barely notice him as jumped over her, but when he glanced down, she was out cold, blood dripping from her ears. Prano took a defensive step back.

"Well if it isn't Trafalgar," she said. Law looked back at Rina, growing more furious as he took in her condition.

"FALL BACK!" he boomed, causing both crews to stop fighting. His crew only took a few moments to take in the situation and obey, leaving the marines confused.

"Oh, fleeing are we? I expected more, Trafalgar," Prano pouted, "no matter. I'll just take care of you the same way I did this pathetic girl," she continued, opening her mouth.

"Counter Shock," he said, pressing his thumbs into her upper chest before she had a chance to make a sound. The Vice-Admiral gasped as a torrent of electricity jolted through her body. While she was still jarred from the blast, Law thrust his hand out and grabbed her by the throat.

"I've heard of your ability, the Pitch-Pitch fruit," he growled, "but I know if I do this...don't mind me, I've never done it this why before.." he pressed his other hand, still holding the sword, against her chest. "Scalpel."

With a soft pop, the woman's heart came out of her chest. She stared blankly at it, as if she couldn't quite believe what had just happened. Her eyes started to droop from sudden tiredness.

"You don't get to sleep yet," Law said, shoving her heart into his coat and then putting his thumbs on either side of her head, right on her temples. "Counter Shock." Another shock jolted through her, stronger this time.

"Gah!" she coughed, completely alert once more.

"I want you awake for this next bit," Law said, eyes gleaming dangerously.

0~0~0

The Heart Pirates stood on the deck of the Sub, watching in disbelief at what they were witnessing. The warship was in pieces, and flying around the blue space that was their Captain's Room. Slowly, the pieces reconnected with each other, but in a horribly hobbled-together kind of way. Some kind of debris was still flying around on the ship though, and upon closer inspection, the crew realized it was body parts. Law was sticking pieces of the marines all over their own ship, alive. Finally, Law himself appeared, Rina slung over his shoulder and holding his nodachi...and a human head. The head was the Vice-Admiral, and as he passed the head of the ship, which was now stuck to the back of the ship of course, he stuck the woman's head to it.

He landed on the deck of the Sub, now carrying Rina bridal-style since his other hand was now free. Gingerly laying her down, he stood up and looked up at Prano's severed head, which was glaring at him.

"Your ship will sail...barely. Your crew is alive, just in pieces. In a moment, my crew will be looting your ship. Let this be a lesson, Prano. Rina is a Heart Pirate now, and with that little speech she gave earlier, I'd even go as far to say she's our very own Pirate Duchess. This is what happens when you mess with the Heart Pirates," he declared, motioning to her deformed warship. "Loot away, guys. If you're injured, stay behind," he instructed, crouching down to inspect Rina's injuries. No one else had really been harmed in the fray, so they quickly went about following their orders. No one dared say anything about what had just transpired. That is, until they were out of earshot.

Anyu smirked at the people who were with her in the remains of the Navy's galley. Kirkby rolled his eyes at her grin.

"What's so funny to you, Anyu?" asked Perry.

"Certain crew mates owe me 100 beri, that's all," she snickered. "You all saw how Cap'n acted when she was in danger. I need to work on some new bets now..." she trailed off, deep in thought about how to proceed with her bet's scenarios. She continued to throw foodstuffs into a basket, but was distracted when someone walked in.

"Oh, is this where the galley ended up? I was looking for the cargo hold.." it was Penguin, with Shachi close behind him. Anyu stopped what she was doing.

"In light of certain events regarding our Cap'n and Duchess, as he has decided to call her, I have realized that we have a lot to talk about," Anyu suddenly declared. Kirkby and Perry stared at her in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Anyu?" asked Kirkby. Holding her basket in the crook of her arm, Anyu waltzed over to a bewildered looking Penguin and hooked her other arm through his, dragging him away backwards.

"W-w-w-w-what?! W-w-w-wait a m-m-m-minute Any-yu!" he stuttered as she dragged him away. Once they were gone Shachi sighed, reaching into on his boiler suit pockets and pulled out some crumpled bills. Giving them a quick count, he walked over to Kirkby and placed them in the boy's waiting hand.

"50 beri, there you go. How the hell did you call that?" he asked, taking off his sunglasses to clean them. Perry stared open-mouthed as the cabin boy pocketed the money, a grin on his face.

"I talk to Anyu a lot while she's cooking. She tells me a lot of stuff," he said smugly. Perry and Shachi could only shake their heads, knowing they weren't going to get anything else from the boy.

0~0~0

While the rest of the crew looted the marines, Law had moved Rina into the medical area. It seemed her eardrums had ruptured. As fast as he could, Law made sure all of his equipment was sanitary as he pulled on a surgical mask and gloves. Once the crew came back on board, he was going to have to call either Penguin, Shachi, or Kirkby, as they were the most medically trained on the Sub besides himself. He made quick work starting the operation, throwing a blue Room over the entirety of the operation room.

He soon lost track of time, so it came as a minor surprise when a light lit up near the ceiling's intercom speaker, signaling that the crew had returned. Rolling over to the wall on his rolling stool, the Captain hit a button with his elbow.

"If you guys are done, submerge us and get us to the closest port town you can. And send Kirkby down here, I need assistance for an operation. Speaking of, keep it steady, yeah? Don't need any extra jostling in here," he said into the intercom. The light flashed twice, signaling they understood. Law rolled back over to his patient and resumed his work. Operating like this always reminded him of his first serious operation...on himself. It had been a wild ride, since at the time he had been 12 years old and still getting a handle on the powers of the Op-Op fruit. He still couldn't help but crack a smile when he remembered what had happened.

"I'm here, Captain," came Kirkby's voice, after the sound of the door. The boy was already wearing his mask and gloves, and standing at the ready. He seemed surprised to see Law smirking.

"Over here, Kirkby. I mainly need you to hand me things and help me monitor Miss Rina, so I can focus on the more delicate parts of her ear," Law instructed. Kirkby did so, still giving Law an odd look.

"You seem to be...in a better mood," he finally noted. Law chuckled as he moved a section of Rina's head to the side.

"I'm just remembering my first operation...despite the hard time it was in my life it was still quite humorous," Law explained. He made a few movements in his work before continuing.

"Would you like to hear about it? Hand me the stitches."

"Um, sure. What where you operating for?" Kirkby asked, handing Law what he had asked for.

"Well, that's a long story all unto itself...have you ever heard of Florence?" Law asked. Kirkby's eyes grew wide.

"Yes! I've read about it in medical books, and history books. It's the place where White Lead Poisoning originates from, correct?"

"Yes, although its the only place White Lead Poisoning ever appeared. It was because white lead was indigenous to Florence. Nobody knew they were being poisoned either, not until hundreds of generations later when the lead build up in the population's bodies was so bad that life expectancy reached ages 13-14 or so."

"Okay...and from what I've read, it was incurable," Kirkby said. Law nodded, slowly starting the internal stitches in Rina's ear.

"It was. No one survived, because of fear, and because there was no cure. Except for the person I operated on."

"Who?" Kirkby asked, already enthralled by the story.

"Myself," Law said nonchalantly, still stitching away slowly. Kirkby was speechless. Law continued.

"To make a very long story short, I escaped Florence when I was 10, and a few years later I got a hold of the Op-Op fruit. By this time I hardly had anytime to live so I read up as much as I could about the fruit's powers and abilities, and tested them out on some animals. Now comes the funny part," Law said, grinning at the memory. "

"I went into the first hospital I found, barricaded myself and some poor nurse and doctor in an operating room, and forced them to help me remove every last bit of White Lead from my body. Their faces were quite the sight when I told them my disease, and even more so when I started using my ability. Nevertheless, we got it all out, and I stayed in that hospital for a while to continue my medical studies and practice my abilities. I met Bepo, Penguin and Shachi a few years later," he said, finishing both his story and the stitches. Putting Rina's ear back together, he quickly switched places with Kirkby so he could work on the other ear.

"Oh, and Kirkby?" Law asked.

"Yes?" the boy replied.

"Don't repeat this story. I only told you because you also work in medicine," Law said, his face deadly serious. Kirkby gulped.

"Aye, Captain."

"Now hand me a scalpel, please."

0~0~0


	7. Attraction

"Rina, can ya hear me?"

"Mmmph.." the blond rolled over onto her side, her brow wrinkled. "...mmm 5 more minutes.."

"RINA!"

"...Huh?" she blinked awake, to find Anyu hovering above her. The memories of the battle suddenly came crashing back. She shot up, her green eyes wide. "What happened? Where is Captain...?"

"Shhhh, everything is fine, Hun, calm down," Anyu soothed. Rina slowly sank back down onto the mattress.

"What happened?" she repeated, sounding small. Anyu sighed.

"What do ya remember?"

"Prano..." she said, crinkling her brow as she tried to remember. "It was very shrill...and then Law...not much after that."

"Prano was a devil fruit user, and she blew out yer eardrums. The Cap'n kinda tore them bits after that," Anyu explained.

"How long have I been out? Where are we?" Rina asked, feeling disoriented.

"Closest pirate friendly island we could find. Ya were out for about a day and half. Cap'n wanted ya to get plenty of rest."

"A day and half? I think that's plenty," Rina sighed, sitting up. "Let me guess, bed rest?" Anyu gave her a sad smile.

"I brought you some magazines," Anyu offered, gesturing to a stack on Rina's bedside table. Rina eyed the collection. A stack of books were with them.

"Where did you get the books?" she asked.

"Oh, Cap'n knew you were needing reading material," Anyu said, giving her a wink. After making sure she was comfortable, the cook left her to attend to other duties. After she left, Rina eyed the stack of books.

"Oh Captain, what am I going to do with you?" she sighed.

0~0~0

The booze here was terrible. But they did have a variety. Law was determined to try them all. Currently he had some piss-poor grog, but the stuff was strong. It was a seedy pub, the kind of place his crew avoided. Most of the other patrons gave him a wide berth, knowing him from his wanted posters. That was fine by Law. He needed to left alone, away from the crew, get properly hammered, and think.

Maybe it had been a mistake to bring Rina into the crew. She was proving to be...most distracting. Angrily he gulped down more of the swill in his mug, banishing those thoughts from his mind. It wasn't her fault he was so out of sorts. He nudged his mug, now empty.

"I'll try the rum," he told the barkeep, putting a few beris down by the empty drink. The man raised an eyebrow at him, but shrugged and filled the cup, taking the money. Law tested the brew. Better than the grog, but not much. Taking a long drink, his mind drifted to the scene of the marine ship.

He could not deny the feelings that had sprung forth when he had seen Rina go down. When he had seen the blood dripping from her ears. The pure white hot fury that had engulfed him, because she had harmed Rina..

Law poured more rum down his throat. He couldn't...wouldn't admit it to himself, not yet. It would be a little longer before he was willing to confront the swirl of emotions within himself. For now, he was content to distract himself with a very strong buzz. Suddenly, he was interrupted from his solitary drinking session by someone taking a seat next to him at the bar. It was a woman, wearing a tight fitting yellow top and black shorts. Her pink hair was piled into a loose bun, and had a natural beauty mark under her left eye. Law tried his best to ignore her, but still over heard her order a mixed vodka drink.

"So what brings you to this dump?" she asked casually, eyeing him. She sipped on her beverage, playing with the straw as she did so.

"Just getting a drink, why else would I go to bar?" Law grumbled. The woman tilted her head, studying him.

"Wait I know who you are...you're one of those 'most dangerous generation' pirates that's been causing all of that fuss, Law, isn't it?" she asked. He took a drink.

"At your service," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"You rescued Straw Hat," she continued, her voice changing in tone. She sounded..angry? Law risked a glance.

"I had my reasons, why you know the kid?" he asked. She glared into her drink.

"My old crew encountered him, briefly, on Jaya. He beat our captain and humiliated us to our captain's superior," she explained. Law nodded, mostly to himself. It wasn't unheard of. Larger pirate crews often had smaller crews that served under them, forming fleets. Whitebeard had done it, and most of the Big 4 did as well. Smaller captains were also known to do it.

"Which crew are you in?" he asked, giving up at avoiding conversation.

"We were the Bellamy Pirates, under Captain Bellamy, but after Straw Hat beat him our superior nearly killed him," she replied, voice dripping with disgust, "after that Bellamy was determined to make it up to him, so we journeyed to the Sky Islands above Jaya. We brought back a huge golden pillar from some ruins the locals gave us, and after that Bellamy disbanded the crew to bring the gold to the boss."

"Wait...Bellamy...I've heard of you..." Law said, his blood running cold.

"Oh? Sure we were infamous but not nearly as big as you've gotten," she sounded surprised.

"You were a minor crew under Doflamingo," he said, focusing his steely gaze on her. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, yeah, Captain Bellamy was obsessed with him. The rest of the crew never really cared, and frankly, we hated seeing him make Bellamy kill the first mate. Since being disbanded we serve no one or have joined other crews. Why?"

"Nothing," he sighed, loosing his fire. This woman wouldn't know anything, being as low as she was. "I just really don't like Doflamingo, you could say."

"Don't blame you, but what can we do against a War Lord, right?" she asked, visibly relaxing. She then offered her hand to him. "I'm Muret, by the way. I was the ship's doctor."

"Oh?" he quirked a brow as he took her hand.

"You don't need a doctor do you? I haven't found a new crew yet," she asked, a small smile starting to form on her features. "Anyone who dislikes the War Lord can't be to bad," she declared.

Law ran the possibility through his mind. Having another fully trained doctor on board would be useful to him as an assistant, but at the same time, she would have little other purpose. He could tell she wasn't very strong, and she also potentially held a grudge against the Straw Hat pirates. He had saved Luffy for leverage purposes, and if he ever ran into the crew he planned on collecting a favor. That could cause a problem later down the road if she harbored ill feelings. There was also all of the drama sure to be brought up with bringing another woman on board. One that was obviously attracted to him, if the way she was looking over him was any indication. Normally Law had no problem with bringing females along, but this one just seemed wrong for his crew.

"I'm actually a surgeon myself," Law found himself saying, "so our medical needs are quite covered at the moment."

"Oh, so you're a doctor too then?" Muret scooted closer to him, leaning on his arm. Her ample cleavage was hard not to notice. "I would love to go over our techniques," she purred into his ear. The pent up frustrations in Law screamed at him. She was wrong for the crew, but for this situation, she was perfect.

"Let me buy you a drink," he said.

0~0~0

Rina stared at the numerous open magazines she had open on the bed. She had been reading everything she could get her hands on, and now she wanted to study something for herself. This was how Anyu found her when she entered with Rina's dinner.

"What are ya doing?" the cook asked. Rina glanced up at her briefly.

"Observing," she said, not offering anything else. Anyu put the food down and crouched next to her.

"And what are ya observing, exactly?" she pressed. Rina motioned to the pictures in the magazines. They were all of people, and not one was alike in appearance. A tall, ebony skinned man grinned from one page, a petite porcelain skinned woman shyly looked up from another. There was heavy people, thin people, and every skin tone Anyu could think of displayed in the magazine pages open on the bed.

"I am determining beauty," Rina declared. Anyu stared at her blankly.

"You're what?" she asked.

"I'm trying to grasp my definition of visual beauty is, since I was blind for most of my life," Rina explained. "But there is only one thing I can come up with, after studying various different images."

"And what is that?" Anyu asked, curiosity piqued.

"There is visual beauty in everything, if you look hard enough. Look at this," Rina said, holding up one image. "This man would be considered ugly by most people." Anyu had to agree. The man was grizzled looking, with a large hairy mole on his nose. He was also quite heavy-set with a double chin.

"But he is so drastically different from everyone, and I think the sheer diversity of everyone is beautiful. Even him," Rina continued, holding up the clipping of the Celestial Dragon she had almost married. Anyu gave Rina a hard look.

"Yer telling me that if you had somehow regained sight while married to him, ya would be fine with it?" she asked incredulously. Rina gave her friend a wry smile.

"While he is part of the diversity that makes humans so beautiful, I believe as a person his soul is quite ugly. But then again, a rare beauty of a person can also be quite ugly underneath. I've simply come to realize something I knew while blind. It's what's inside that counts, look for inner beauty on a person. Easier to do when you can't see. Also, attraction is something else entirely."

"Oh do tell me yer enlightened views," Anyu teased. Rina stuck her tongue out playfully before continuing.

"While I do believe everyone is beautiful in their own unique way, that doesn't mean we find them attractive. Attraction is your own personal preference, and an exiting new thing for a recently blind girl such as myself to explore," she said, starting to close the magazines and gather them up into a stack.

"Sounds like yer justifying yer 'attraction' to certain fuzzy-hatted individuals," Anyu said smugly, grinning when a flush spread across her cheeks.

"I don't...really know what is going on there..." Rina finally admitted, reaching for the food Anyu had brought. The cook sat back thoughtfully.

"Well, it ain't really my place to butt into yer affairs, I'll be nicer than normal and let the two of ya figure whatever is is ya got going out. I'll even be saying in...ah..new sleeping quarters so if ya decide to change yer sleeping arrangements yerself..." Anyu trailed off, wiggling her eyebrows at Rina suggestively. Rina blinked, and then felt her flush spread to her ears as she realized what Anyu was implying.

"OH! Nothing like that of course, Anyu," she sputtered. Anyu threw her head back in a hearty laugh.

"But why are leaving the room to me? Is it just while I recover...? No..." Rina speculated, watching the cook's reactions to her questions. "No...you finally made a move on Penguin didn't you?" Anyu just winked.

"Eat up, girly. I won't try and advise ya of anything, the Cap'n is way beyond my expertise. But do promise to me all the juicy details of anything that does happen." And with that, the cook was gone again, leaving a very pink Rina to simmer in the suggestive themes her friend had prompted.

0~0~0

Law really wasn't surprised things had gotten this far. While both of them drank more alcohol, Law and Muret had chatted and flirted away. She was proving to be quite clever and educated, and with her looks, she was just Law's type. He had allowed her to drag him to her room, and now that the door was closed behind her, any final restraint she had vanished. She sauntered towards him, her hips swaying seductively. When she reached him, she shoved him onto the bed with a flick of her hand. Grinning like a fool, Law let her come to him.

Muret kicked off her shoes and came to straddle his lap. He groaned as she slowly grinded herself on him, trapping his body between the wall and her soft body. Slowly he reached around and grabbed at her backside, earning a sounds of approval from her. Law let his hands roam her body, and work their way up to her chest. Muret was practically purring at his ministrations. He tugged at the zipper on the front of her top, freeing her of the garment and revealing a lacy black bra. Muret let him take her in with his eyes for a moment before she reached for his hoodie, quickly ridding him of it. She seemed delighted to discover he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath, and traced his tattoos.

With an aroused growl, Law flipped them over so he was now looming over her. He reached down, intending to claim her mouth, but he paused. Her dark eyes looked up at him, waiting. Her pupils were dilated in arousal, hell, he could practically smell it coming off of her. She was a beautiful woman, and the very site of her creamy skin exposed in nothing but a bra laying sprawled on the bed was enough to drive any hot-blooded male wild. But it seemed...wrong. Something just wasn't right. Her dark eyes, the pink hair..even the little mole under her eye...all beautiful, but it didn't belong. Law suddenly found he wasn't aroused anymore. Cursing under his breath, he pulled himself off of her.

"I'm sorry, Muret, but I must be leaving now," he apologized, pulling his hoodie back on. Before she had a chance to protest, he had fled he room. He rushed back towards where the sub was docked. He needed to be truly alone, in his cabin. He had found himself wishing those eyes had been green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than normal, but I felt it should end on that note.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still getting used to this site so if something I do seems weird that is why.


End file.
